My (Boy)Friend The Whale Shark
by angelic.snowflake
Summary: W-wait, I was just supposed to make some posters for the swim club! (Sousuke/maleOC)
1. Chapter 1

Hello~! So I got hooked on Free! Eternal Summer (naturally) and Sousuke quickly became my new fave (sorry Rei-chan ...) but since I already ship all of the other I didn't have anyone to ship him with so I thought, why not my wonderful OC Angel? (≧ω≦)

Please tell me what you think of the first chapter, this is my first Free! story ever and I'd really like to know if I've managed to keep the Iwatobi boys in character.

* * *

**Chapter 1  
**

_Uwah! I can't find my room!_

With my mind a mess, I scuttled through the hallways of my new school, Iwatobi High. This was only my second day and I was already going to be late unless I managed to find my classroom on time! I clutched my bag to my chest as I ran along the hallways, scanning every room.

_Ok, ok … So it should be around here somewhere … Right?_

"Waa!"

In my hurry I wasn't looking where I was going, so due to my inherent bad luck, I bumped directly into someone. Or something. Everything that happened was in such a blur, but I definitely felt like I had bumped into something as hard as a rock. The impact sent me flying backwards and I winced quietly as my butt hit the tiled floor.

"Oh, hey … You ok there?" Apparently, whatever I had bumped into, it could talk.

I looked up and brushed my bangs out of my eyes. I gaped as I saw what seemed like a giant towering over me with a concerned expression on his face.

_Wow … he's __**huge**__!_

"Um … I think I am …" I muttered.

He offered me his hand and helped me get up on my feet. Now that my initial shock had died down and I could take a better look at him, I realized that he was still pretty huge. But he didn't seem threatening in the very least. In fact, he had one of the gentlest faces I had ever seen.

"S-sorry … I didn't mean to bump into you …" I apologized awkwardly.

"It's fine … You seem more ruffled than me anyway." He chuckled softly. "Where were you running to by the way?"

"Ah … this is embarrassing …" I chuckled and rubbed the back of my head. "You see, I'm new here and … I can't find my classroom."

"I could tell that. You're speaking kind of weird, so I'm guessing that you're not from here." He remarked.

"Y-yeah … my dad accepted a job here and we moved. Is my Japanese good, by the way?" I asked a bit nervously. "I've been studying it for four years but I've never been good at languages."

"It's fine." He smiled. "My name is Tachibana Makoto."

"Oh, nice to meet you, Tachibana-kun." I smiled politely at him. "I'm Angel."

"Angel … That's a nice name."

"Oh … Thanks …" I blushed lightly.

"So where do you need to go? I could show you to your room."

"Really? Well, I have History. And I'm pretty sure that the room is supposed to be somewhere here."

Makoto stared at me for a while. He then chuckled and pointed to a door just a few feet away from where we were standing. My eyes widened slightly and I blushed even more. Just perfect … I made myself look like an idiot in front of an upperclassman. And the day had barely even started!

"W-well … thanks, Tachibana-kun… " I muttered.

"Anytime." He gave me one last gentle smile and then walked off. He probably had his own class to go to.

I took a deep breath and walked into the classroom. Moving to a new school and town was bad enough, but moving to a new country entirely was even **worse**. I felt different. In all honesty, people were nice to me, but I could feel that they treated me like an outsider. Maybe they just needed time to get used to me … And I needed time to get used to them too.

I took a seat in the middle row and got my stuff out. I was quite nervous – I still wasn't used to hearing Japanese on a daily basis and taking notes at the same time. I was scared of falling behind.

I always got good grades in my Japanese classes back home, but coming to Japan and speaking with the natives was entirely different. Back home, my teacher used to speak slow and clear, making sure that every word was intelligible. Of course, I couldn't expect of native speakers to be as considerate. As I said, I needed some time to adjust.

To cope with my nervousness, I started doing what I always did when I needed to calm down – I started doodling. I rather liked my new school's mascot – I had no idea what that thing was supposed to be, but it was cute – so I started drawing it in different outfits and styles. This "therapy" helped, as I soon became too wrapped up in my doodling to notice anything else. Which is why I was caught off guard so easily.

"Wooooow!"

I jumped up in my seat and my sudden movement caused my shoulder to slam directly into someone's chin. I twirled around to see who had been peeking at my paintings from behind me and saw … uh, someone. I didn't know his name. He had slightly messy blond hair and kind of looked like a very excitable puppy. His eyes were teary – probably because of me accidentally hitting him.

"I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed. How was it that I managed to hurt two people in the span of a few minutes? I was definitely not having a good day.

He looked at my drawing again and seemed to forget about his aching chin immediately. He stepped closer and grabbed the paper, looking at it with sparkling eyes.

"Wooow, this is so cool!" He exclaimed loudly.

"Ah … thanks?" I was confused and slightly intimidating by his erratic behavior.

"Nagisa, don't take people's belongings without asking for their permission first!"

Another student had joined us. This one was tall and looked quite prim and proper, standing completely straight and with his uniform all neat and tidy. He was looking at his friend with a stern expression.

"But Rei-chaaaan, look!" He shoved the paper almost in the other's face. "See how cute this is!"

He sighed and adjusted his red-rimmed glasses, then took the paper away from the shorter boy and handed it back to me.

"I apologize for Nagisa." He said rather formally. "He sometimes doesn't respect other people's boundaries."

"Rei-chaaan …" Nagisa whined and nuzzled into his friend. "That's mean …"

I couldn't help but chuckle as I watched those two interact.

"It's fine, really … " I said, smiling softly. "I'm actually flattered – he seems to like my doodles a lot."

Nagisa grinned widely and suddenly hugged me. I blinked - this action was unexpected at all – and looked at Rei helplessly. He sighed and grabbed Nagisa by the collar, then started dragging him away. I could hear Nagisa complaining and chuckled, shaking my head lightly.

_What an odd pair … But they do seem very close._

* * *

By the end of the school day I was feeling exhausted. I had to be alert during all my classes so that I would understand as much of the lessons as I could. I couldn't afford to get distracted even for a minute.

_How do the other students manage to do it? I feel so exhausted!_

"Angel-chaaaan!"

"Huh?" Before I knew it, someone had jumped on me and were now clinging to me so tightly that I thought that they were trying to choke me. "N-nagisa-kun?"

He grinned at me brightly and then nuzzled me.

"I have a great idea!"

"Ok?" I replied cautiously – this guy was unpredictable.

"You can make posters for our club! That way we can get new members!" He exclaimed.

"Um … Nagisa-kun …. I'm really flattered by your … request, but I don't even know what your club does." I really didn't know what to answer. This was all so unexpected! "And … well, I suppose I'll need to talk to the rest of your club, right? They need to all agree to this."

"Right! So let's go!" Nagisa grabbed me by the wrist and started dragging me somewhere – I supposed to his club. I didn't have much choice but to follow him.

Soon we arrived at the club – apparently it was the swim club. And it consisted of five people – four boys and a girl. I was surprised to see that I already knew three of them – Nagisa, Rei and Makoto. How odd, to meet them all in the same day …

"Hey, guys! This is Angel-chan and he's agreed to make posters for our club!"

"Wha-" I blushed and quickly tried to correct my classmate. "N-no! I haven't agreed to do anything yet!"

_Ok … Note to self, don't trust Nagisa. __**Ever**__._

"Can you draw water?"

I looked at the guy that was talking. I didn't know him. He had a calm, almost bored expression and his voice was even and dull. To be honest, it was kind of scary how unaffected he seemed by what was happening.

"You mean if I can draw the pool or something?" I asked.

He didn't reply. Instead, he turned around and stared at the pool. Alright … this guy was weird. I bit my lower lip and turned to the rest.

"Um … I could make one poster, as an example. If you like it then I can make some more and you can photocopy them." I suggested.

"Are you sure?" Makoto asked. "We'd be really grateful if you did that. We seem to be having troubles getting new members."

"Oh, in that case I'd be happy to help you!" I exclaimed. "Besides, it would be fun, right? Making posters." I smiled cheerfully. "I used to these things for the clubs in my previous school all the time."

"Then you must know a lot about it!" Nagisa exclaimed and nuzzled me.

His excitement was contagious, apparently. The others started to smile as well; even the apathetic guy was beginning to look mildly interested. I couldn't help but feel enthusiastic. I was going to do my best to help the Iwatobi Swim Club.


	2. Chapter 2

Here's chapter 2! Still no Sousuke, sorry about that, but I promise that he will appear in the next chapter! ^_^ Also, a little but of info - this fic happens after the events of the third episode in Free! Eternal Summer. Thought this should clear things up. Also, the colors of Angel's swimsuit were not randomly selected. Try to guess what they represent! ;)

Please tell me how I'm doing so far, any reviews would be appreciated~

* * *

**Chapter 2**

_Ok … it's got to be here somewhere …_

It was the weekend after I had promised the swim club to make posters for them. I had attended their swimming practice every day after class – I wanted to capture the club's spirit as accurately as I could for the posters – and I had become pretty close with everyone, even Haru-kun. They were quite a friendly bunch and I actually liked hanging out with them.

We had decided to meet in Haru's home so that I could show the team the drafts I've made of the posters. I was honestly kind of nervous about whether they would like them or not.

Following the directions that I was given, I soon found the house. It was hard to miss – Nagisa and Rei were standing in front of it and Nagisa was waving eagerly at me and shouting my name. I blushed and hurried to them.

"Nagisa-kun, you shouldn't yell like that on the streets." I said, feeling slightly embarrassed by my friend's behavior.

Instead of replying to me, Nagisa hugged me tightly. I could have sworn that I heard a loud crack from one of my ribs.

"Ah … Rei-kun … A little help?"

After Nagisa had been successfully removed from me, we went inside the house. Makoto, Haru and Gou were already there. I smiled and greeted them cheerfully.

"Alright, guys … So I made a couple of different posters. Keep in mind that these are just drafts, please! The real posters will have colored backgrounds and sharper details." I blushed brightly as I unrolled three posters and placed them on the table.

Makoto and the others leaned closer to look at them better. They were silent for a few minutes while they were examining them. I just stood there awkwardly. Why were they so silent? Did they not like the posters? I started to fidget with my sleeve uncomfortably.

"Um … I can make new ones!" I suggested quickly. "I promise that I'll do better and-"

"They're fine." Haru interrupted me with his calm voice. "I like this one the most. You drew the pool in it."

The others started muttering in approval too. I felt relief wash over me and sighed, my shoulders slumping down.

"W-well, then I suppose if you like the poster with the pool, I'll make the real one tomorrow so that you can photocopy it on time and place it all over the school on Monday." I smiled.

"That sounds great!" Gou exclaimed and clapped her hands. "Thank you so much, Angel-kun!"

"Don't mention it, I'm happy to help you." I replied cheerfully. "I just hope that these posters can help you get new members."

"Me too." Makoto nodded, his smile fading a bit. "We seem to have troubles recruiting new members. I don't know what else we can do – we've tried everything. We even won the relay race against the other school clubs."

"Oh … Well … I'm sure that you'll come up with something soon." I encouraged him. "You should lighten up, Makoto-kun."

"Heey, Angel-chan! Why don't **you** join the club?" Nagisa suggested cheerfully.

"E-eh? Me?!" I blinked and blushed. "B-but I'm not a good swimmer at all!" I protested. "I'll be holding the team back."

"Don't say that!" Makoto smiled gently and patted my back. "Rei couldn't even swim when he joined."

"Eh?" I turned to Rei, who had suddenly turned bright red. "Why would you join a swim club if you can't even swim?" I asked puzzled.

He adjusted his glasses and looked away, starting to mutter something about being harassed into joining the team. Nagisa giggled and hugged me tightly.

"So it's settled! Angel-chan is our newest team member!" He announced happily.

"W-wait! I never said that I'll join!"

But everyone had already started cheering and all of my protests fell on deaf ears. Rei sighed and adjusted his glasses.

"About the same thing happened to me. Welcome to the Iwatobi Swim Club."

* * *

"Looking good, Angel-chan!"

"You should straighten up, your posture isn't good at all!"

"This is bad, he doesn't have any muscles!"

"Don't be scared of the water or you won't be able to swim freely."

"Could everyone **please** just stop talking!" I exclaimed, blushing brightly.

I was standing on the edge of the pool, slightly hunched over and with my arms wrapped around my body. I knew that since this was the swim club, I was expected to be dressed appropriately, but I still couldn't get over the fact that **I was wearing a bright pink and baby blue speedo in school**! And the pool was outside, meaning that everyone could see me! And it was **cold**!

"Ok, Angel-kun, don't be nervous. Just show us what you can do." Makoto said in an encouraging voice.

"Um … I r-really don't feel like doing this …" I mumbled. "Can I go last?"

"Don't be shy, Angel-chan!" Nagisa grinned and gave me a light push, sending me toppling into the pool.

I was right – the water was freezing! I felt like my skin just became a size too small for my body. I quickly emerged from the water and cried out.

"Wahhh! It's cold!" I quickly climbed out of the pool and started jumping in one, trying to warm myself up. "Why is the water so cold?"

"Hehe…" Makoto chuckled softly as he handed me a towel. "You just aren't used to the water temperature yet. The more time you spend in the pool the less cold it will become." He explained.

"I don't like cold …" I muttered sadly while I dried myself with the towel. "Can't we swim in a hot spring? I bet that would make swimming even better!"

"Hot springs are too small to swim in." He replied and patted me on the back. "Why don't you go and just stay in the water until you get adjusted to its temperature?"

"A-alright …" I nodded, blushing. "I told you that I'd hold the team back …"

"Don't say that, Angel-chaaaan!" Nagisa whined and nuzzled his head into my back. "You're doing well."

"I was in the pool for two seconds." I pointed out. "But I promise that I'll improve my swimming. I promise! Now that I'm a member of the swim club I'll do my best not to embarrass myself or my teammates."

"That's the spirit!" Nagisa grinned and hugged me tightly. I couldn't help but smile as well – his enthusiasm was indeed contagious.

"Thank you, Nagisa-kun! Your support means a lot to me."

"What style are you going to swim?" Haru asked me.

"Hm … is there a style where I just float in the water like a jellyfish? Coz I think I'd be really good at that." He frowned at my joke. "Sorry … W-well … What do you think that I'd be best at?"

Makoto observed me thoughtfully.

"Hm … You'll need to do some training first to improve your stamina and strength." He said. "For now you'll start with breaststroke."

"That how I swim too! I can teach Angel-chan!" Nagisa chirped happily. He took me by the hand and dragged me to the pool. "Let's start!"

"Ah, Nagisa, w-wait … The water's still co-ohhh!" I screamed as he once again pushed me into the pool.

* * *

After what I had officially declared as the toughest week of my life, there was not a single part of me that didn't ache. Apart from swimming practice every day after classes, I was also coaxed into jogging every morning and evening with Nagisa and Rei. It was exhausting, but oddly enough, I felt happy. I felt accepted and the fact that I was able to do something so physically straining and not feel like quitting was really empowering.

I had a new swimming suit – it covered my legs which I liked, because I still found the water freezing. It was black with purple and teal stripes. I actually liked it a lot, even though I wasn't used to wearing such tight clothes.

Of course, this wasn't some silly sports movie where the weak underdog becomes a professional athlete in the span of a five-minute montage. I still couldn't swim from one end of the pool to the other without having to stop to catch my breath. I didn't let that affect me, but I did feel quite discouraged when I saw that the others were so far ahead of me, swimming lap after lap seemingly without any effort on their part.

I wasn't going to give up, though. I asked all of my teammates for advice on how to swim better. Their answers were … a bit unhelpful. Haru told me to stay as much as I can in water so that the water could get used to me (I still wasn't quite sure if he was joking or not); Gou told me to build some muscles; Nagisa suggested that I stay a week with him so that we could sync our training schedules; Rei gave me a ton of books and articles about swimming; and Makoto advised me to just keep exercising, saying that the results took some time to show.

"Cheer up, Angel-kun." Makoto told me after our practice on Friday. "You've only been at this for five days. At least you manage to stay in the pool for a large part of the practice. That was something you were unable to do on Monday, remember?"

"Yeah …" I smiled lightly. "Makoto-kun … Do you really think that I'd ever be good enough to swim in a competition? I mean, that's the whole point of being in a swim club, right?"

"I wouldn't say that." He smiled. "Look at Haru – he just likes to swim. Of course, when needed, he also competes, but most of the time he just likes to be in the water. A swim club – any kind of club, actually – is about more than winning races. It's about learning how to be part of a team, learning discipline and sportsmanship, and having fun too. Clubs who only aim at winning prizes don't get far, I'll tell you that."

"I guess not …" I muttered thoughtfully. What Makoto said actually made a lot of sense and also relieved much of the stress that had piled up during that week. Now I didn't feel so pressured to become a good swimmer so quickly. I could do it all at my own pace.


	3. Chapter 3

So here's chapter 3! I really hope you guys like it! (^_^)

Also, I want to watch the new Free! episode before I write the next chapter, and since the episode comes out on the 23rd, it will be a while until I post a new chapter. Sorry about that ...

Thank you for the nice reviews, guys! Also that person who tried to guess what the colors on Angel's swimsuit meant ... Hehe, nice guess, but I'm afraid it's not that. :p But if it's any consolation, your guess is way better than what I had in mind when I picked the colors. ;)

Any reviews are welcomed! And don't be shy to criticize!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

I was looking forward to the weekend. After a whole week of rigorous training – despite his innocence and chaotic behavior, Nagisa could be surprisingly strict when it came to exercising and swimming - I wanted a couple of days to myself, just to relax and regain my strength. Or at least to regain all feeling in my limbs again. I probably wouldn't be able to leave the bed anyway – my body ached all over due to all the exercising.

"Angel … Angel?"

"Mmm …" I mumbled lightly and turned to my side, hugging my pillow sleepily. Opening my eyes slightly, I saw my mother crouching beside my bed with a hand on my shoulder. "Mom? What time is it?"

"It's half past eight, sweetie." She smiled softly.

I yawned. Half past eight … Who was even up at half past eight on a Saturday?! Crazy people, that's who.

"Why are you waking me up?" I groaned. "I told you that I was tired and I wanted to rest…"

"I know dear, but your friends are downstairs waiting for you."

"Wha…?" I was taken aback for a few seconds. Then I sat up groggily, stifling a yawn. "Why are they here?"

"They said that you have swimming practice today."

I blinked. Swimming practice? **Today**? I didn't recall Makoto saying anything about a practice the previous day… I rubbed my eyes sleepily and got out of bed. My head was still feeling kind of heavy.

"Tell them that I'll be right down, please."

It took me a little more than five minutes to brush my teeth, take quick shower, get dressed and prepare everything I needed for the swim practice. I walked downstairs and saw that everyone were sitting in the living room, obviously waiting for me.

"Angel-chaaaan! Did you oversleep?" Nagisa asked. "We're going to be late!"

"Ah, sorry … I didn't even know we had a practice today." I apologized flustered.

"We normally don't." Makoto explained. "But today we managed to arrange an extra joint practice with the Samezuka swim club. Didn't you get my message last night?"

"A-ah …. I actually went to bed rather early and I haven't checked my phone at all … Sorry…" I blushed embarrassed.

"It's fine, you've been working hard all week." Makoto smiled softly. "Now let's go. We have ten minutes until the train leaves."

Luckily, my home was just seven and a half minutes away from the train station, so we managed to get on the train on time. My friends were all chatting happily, but I was just sitting quietly in my seat. I was still sleepy and I was hungry – I didn't have time to eat anything before leaving home.

"Angel-kun? Are you fine?" Makoto asked, frowning slightly in concern. "You look kind of pale."

"I'm just kinda hungry, that's all." I replied with a small smile.

"Oh, then you won't have the energy to swim!" Nagisa exclaimed worried. He dug into his bag and pulled out some sort of round pastry with a cute cartoon face on it made with icing. "Here, eat this!"

"A-ah … Nagisa-kun, are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah!"

"Thanks." I smiled and took the pastry from him. It turned to be too sweet even for my taste, but I didn't care much at that moment. I just wanted to fill my empty stomach with something. "So where are we going? I thought that we had a swimming practice?"

"We do." Rei nodded. "But our joint practices take place at Samezuka Academy."

"So … Samezuka is a school too?" I asked.

"It's a boarding school for boys." Makoto explained. "They have a very strong swim team."

"Eh? They do?"

I looked down at my feet, blushing brightly. How could I, who've only been swimming for a week, go and show my laughable skills in front of a team who were much better than me at it? It would be so embarrassing!

Makoto was obviously aware of what was going on in my head, because he smiled again and patted me on the back encouragingly.

"Don't worry. Nobody will laugh or judge you." He said soothingly. "Every swimmer begins the way you did, as a rookie."

"Thanks …" I muttered.

_I bet I'll be the worst swimmer there…_

* * *

"Woah, this place is huge!" I exclaimed, looking around.

_And full of people … The swim club must be really popular here …_

The captain of the Samezuka team – a large guy with frighteningly shark-like teeth – approached us with a scowl on his face.

"Makoto! You guys are late!"

"Ah! Sorry … That was my fault …" I explained, blushing brightly.

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"This is Angel. He's the newest member of our team." Makoto introduced me.

"Nice to meet you. Matsuoka Rin." He grinned, showing his pointy teeth. "Angel, huh? So you're not from around here, I gather."

"A-ah … yeah … My family moved to Japan two weeks ago …" I nodded.

"It's tough adjusting to a new country, right?" Rin asked. "I lived in Australia for a while, so I know what it's like."

I smiled. Apparently Rin wasn't as scary as he looked.

"Come on, Angel-chan! Let's go change!" Nagisa grabbed me by the arm and dragged me to the changing rooms, completely ignoring my protests.

This practice was … different than our usual ones. There were more people here, for once. This was probably the reason why I felt like someone was watching me. It was unsettling. But the weird thing was … that as soon as I jumped in the pool, I didn't care who was watching me. I didn't care that I didn't swim as gracefully or as fast as the others. My whole being was focused on swimming.

_Maybe I'm catching some of Haru-kun's love for water…_

"Angel-kun, you did pretty well." Makoto praised me as I emerged from the water. "It looks like your training is paying off, hm?"

I smiled and swam to the edge of the pool.

"Thank you, Makoto-kun." I said and got out of the water. I walked to the bench where I had put my towel and started to dry myself. I was certain that I hadn't done **that** well, but I knew that Makoto was just trying to make me feel better and I was grateful to him for that.

I watched my teammates swim and smiled softly. Every time I watched Haru's perfect swimming form, Nagisa's exalted splashing, Makoto's professional strokes and Rei's ambitious diving – which he had copied perfectly from a video that he had once sent me – I felt inspired to improve my own skills. I was aware, though, that I'd probably never be as good as those guys. But that wasn't going to stop me from doing my best!

"Instead of watching you should be swimming."

I flinched and spun around, coming face-to-chest with someone. I looked up and my jaw dropped.

_Oh god … he's so pretty! Those eyes …_

"Um … I j-just got out of the pool …" I stuttered, blushing brightly.

"I know. I watched you swim. I wanted to see what Nanase's new recruit was capable of. Not impressive at all."

I bit my lower lip and looked down. I didn't know who that guy was, but he gave off this aura that he was not taking swimming lightly. His large, muscular body, his confident posture, his stern face – it was all evidence that he was **good** at what he did. However, it didn't give him the right to be so condescending!

"S-sorry … I know that I'm not a good swimmer …" I muttered.

"What kind of attitude is that?" He scowled. "You're setting yourself up for failure from the very start."

I blinked, totally confused. Was he trying to encourage me or to insult my poor skills? I tossed my towel on the bench and gave the guy a soft smile.

"Alright. I'll make sure to think positively from now on. Thank you for your advice."

I turned my back to him and walked to the pool. I could feel – or maybe I was imagining it? – the guy still looking at me and my face burned with embarrassment. That guy … He seemed really hostile. But I had the weird suspicion that his hostility wasn't directed at me. Maybe he was just treating me like that because I was from another swim club? Maybe he saw me as an opponent or something? I sighed as I went to my teammates, who had gathered in one place near the edge of the pool.

"Hey, guys? Do you know who that is?" I asked as I pointed to the tall guy.

"That's Yamazaki Sousuke." Makoto replied. "I think he's a childhood friend of Rin's, right?"

"Yeah." Nagisa confirmed. "I heard he's a very good swimmer. But he always seems so angry, doesn't he?" He added in his carefree voice.

"He sure does." I nodded, casting one last look at Sousuke. I shook my head and then jumped in the water, eager to shake off any more thoughts of him.

* * *

"Hey." Someone called me and I turned to see who it was.

"Haru-kun?"

He stepped closer to me, glancing for a second at the others who were standing a few feet away from us.

"Yamazaki …" He spoke quietly. "Did he say anything to you? I saw you talking."

I hesitated. In all honesty, I still wasn't sure what had happened between Sousuke and me. After our short conversation I managed to see him swimming. He was good, there was no doubt about that. And he was fast, too. I was quite impressed, actually.

"Well, he just told me that I should keep practicing." I finally replied. "Why do you ask, Haru-kun? Did … something happen between you and Sousuke?"

"You could say that …" He replied, vaguely, looking away. "If he tried to do anything to you, come to me."

"Ah … I will … But do you think that he will do something to me?" I asked a bit nervously.

"I'm not sure. But be careful around him."

Haru's warning left a heavy weight in my stomach. Something was going on between him and Sousuke, I was sure of it. It seemed like something much more than mere competition …

"Alright, I will be…" I nodded, smiling lightly. "But Haru-kun, are you sure you're not exaggerating just a little bit?" I asked, forcing myself to sound cheerful.

He didn't reply to that. Instead he just walked away from me.

"Haru-chan! Angel-chan! Are you ready to go?" Nagisa asked.

"Yeah." I nodded and grabbed my bag.

"Good work today, everyone." Makoto smiled at us. "You all did great. Now how about we go and grab something to eat?"

We all started murmuring in agreement and headed out of the changing room.


	4. Chapter 4

Here's the new chapter! (^_^) It turned out longer than I had planned, oops! Hehe...

Anyway, this chapter contains very few spoilers about Free! ES episode 4, most of it is just my imagination being wild, so even those of you who haven't watched it yet are welcome to read the chapter! :3

Reviews are always welcome!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"Good work today, Angel-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed, hugging me tightly.

"Thank you, Nagisa-kun." I smiled at him, returning the hug. Him and I had got really close after I had joined the swim club.

Nagisa had come up with the bright idea that I could do with some more swimming practice and had suggested that we use the indoor pool in the newly opened swim club that he, Haru and Makoto used to be in before. Their old coach – who now owned the club – was happy to help us, boasting that with his assistance I would be a world-class swimmer in no time.

I somehow doubted that.

But we had been going swimming in the club almost every evening. Rei usually joined us – no surprise there, I had noticed that he and Nagisa were **always** together - while Makoto and Haru preferred to jog instead of swim – this was actually the first time that I'd seen Haru choose something else over swimming. I supposed that this was because Makoto had said that he wouldn't do it.

But this evening it was just me and Nagisa. Rei had excused himself, explaining that he had some errand to do. If I remember correctly, he had said something about an appointment with his dentist.

"Are you ready to go, Angel-chan?" Nagisa asked me, holding his bag over his shoulder.

"Oh … Why don't you go ahead, Nagisa-kun?" I suggested. "I'm feeling kind of cold, so I'm going to get something warm to drink first. And someone needs to tell coach Sasabe that we're off now."

"Are you sure? Alright then! See you tomorrow!" He hugged me one last time and headed out, waving at me and shouting that I "better not be late tomorrow".

I smiled and waved at him. Once he was out of the swim club, I went to the vending machines and put the coins in the slot, then pushed the hot chocolate button. It wasn't as good as the hot chocolate my mom made, but it was sweet and warm and that was good enough for me.

I took the plastic cup and held it with both hands, enjoying the soothing warmth. The evenings were quite chilly and the water in the pool was cold, even if the pool was indoors. I started walking around the swim club, looking for the coach to tell him that Nagisa and I were finished for today.

_Oh … those photos …_

I stopped to look at the old photograph that the coach had put on the wall. Nagisa and Makoto had told me about the time they were in the swim club with Haru and Rin and had won a race, but up until today I hadn't had the chance to look at the photo. It was odd, seeing my friends in it. They were so young!

_Though Nagisa doesn't look like he's changed that much._

I giggled at the thought. It was true – the Nagisa in the photo was the same bubbly little thing that he was now. Probably the only visible difference would be his height.

Suddenly I heard the echo of footsteps behind me. Thinking that it was coach Sasabe, I turned around, ready to announce that I was leaving.

"Hey, coa- oh."

It was Sousuke. After our short chat during the joint practice and Haru's warning, I was quite wary of him. He didn't look too pleased to see me either. What was he doing here anyway? Didn't Samezuka Academy students have curfew or something?

"G-good evening, Yamazaki-kun." I muttered, looking away.

He didn't respond. Instead, he stepped closer to me, but he was looking at the photo of Makoto, Haru, Nagisa and Rin.

_Oh. That's right … He's Rin's childhood friend …_

"They seem very happy, right?" I asked. "Well, they probably were. They've just won a race, after all."

His frown deepened. That's when I realized that he had his eyes fixed on a single person in the photograph – Haru. I gulped silently. I could sense that something bad was about to happen.

Or maybe it was just my nerves?

"What are you doing here anyway? It's past closing time." Sousuke finally spoke, turning his attention to me.

"Oh, well … Nagisa arranged it that we use the pool here for additional practice." I explained. "I thought that I needed as much practice as I can get."

"Rin tells me that you haven't been swimming for very long."

"E-eh … you two've talked about me?" I blinked and then blushed lightly in embarrassment. "W-well, it's true… I know that I have a long road ahead of me."

"I'm curious. What is your goal exactly?" He eyed me from head to toe. "Even you must realize that there is no way that you will become good enough to compete before you graduate."

"I know that." I looked down. "But honestly … That's not really what I want. I'm not really sure why I joined the club… I just want to do my best you know? Even if my best isn't enough to make me as good as Haru-kun, just knowing that I'm giving it my all makes me feel better about myself… ehhh, are you feeling alright, Yamazaki-kun?" I asked slowly and took a step back. At the mention of Haru's name, Sousuke's eyes narrowed and he started giving off this dark aura. It was **intimidating**. "A-ah … Sorry … You don't really like him, do you?"

He nodded. I hesitated for a second – should I ask him about that? I was curious to learn what had happened between him and Haru. But that was probably something personal …

"Um … By the way, what are you doing here, Yamazaki-kun?" I asked.

"It's none of your business." He replied curtly.

_Ouch … That was mean._

"Sorry … I was just curious, you know? I mean, you had to take the train all the way from Samezuka Academy… That's a lot of way to go just to get some fresh air …"

I **really** didn't know when to stop talking, did I?

Sousuke frowned and stepped closer to me, leaning down so that he was on the same eye level as me. I suddenly realized just how big he was and gulped.

"I don't need to explain my actions to **you**."

"I was just trying to make small talk, ok?" I turned my head and closed my eyes. I was scared, true, but at the same time being so close to Sousuke made my body temperature rise.

I had some **weird** kinks.

"Let's race."

"Wha-?" My mind went blank. Me race Sousuke? **Now**? I blushed and shook my head. "A-ah … sorry, but I don't think that's a good idea. I looked you up, you see? You're a really good swimmer. You'll beat me without even breaking a sweat and I'll feel crushed afterwards."

"You're setting yourself up for failure again!" He frowned. "Stop thinking so negatively."

"I'm not!" I retorted, pouting. "I'm just being realistic. I've been swimming for a little more than a week. You've been swimming for years. It doesn't take much to figure out who'll win if we race."

Sousuke stared at me for a few minutes, then straightened up and took a few steps back. I sighed relieved – I was starting to feel like a cornered animal.

"You were about to go home, right?" He asked.

* * *

_Whatdoido? Whatdoido? __**Whatdoido**__?_

Sousuke had apparently decided to walk me home and ignored all of my feeble protests. The situation couldn't be any more **awkward**, as we were walking in complete silence and about two feet away from each other.

"Um … y-you don't need to do that, you know?" I asked quietly, looking down at the ground.

"It isn't safe for you to be walking home alone at this hour." He replied calmly.

"Then … shouldn't it be unsafe for you too?"

"I doubt that anything would happen to me." He chuckled lightly.

_I guess he's right … No one would even dare to assault someone his size._

"So … I heard that you and Matsuoka-kun are childhood friends." I said. "That must be nice."

"Nice?"

"Ah … W-well, Matsuoka-kun told me that he used to live in Australia for a while. It's nice to know that you two still remained friends even when you were so far apart."

…

Had I said something wrong again? I could have sworn that for a moment, Sousuke's eyes became darker. He didn't say anything though and I wasn't sure if I should ask him about it. It was obvious that I had triggered some unpleasant memories.

"I was just saying this because when my family moved here, I left all my old friends behind. And … I think that the distance may be too much for us." I sighed.

"If you are truly intent on keeping your friendship, then you won't lose your friends." He told me.

"I guess … But I'm always busy with school and the swim club … Plus there's the time difference … It's just hard to keep in touch with them, you know?"

"Where are you from?" He asked me.

"I was born in Wales."

"Oh, that's in England, right?"

"Er … no." I chuckled. "It's part of the United Kingdom, but it's a separate country."

"I see. You sure moved pretty far away from your home."

"Yeah, tell me about it." I sighed. "Oh, but don't get me wrong. I love it here. I've always liked Japan. I used to read a lot of manga and watch tons of anime. That's actually why I chose to attend Japanese classes back home – I wanted to feel as close to Japanese culture as I could. When my dad told me that we were moving to Japan I was actually really excited about it." I chuckled.

"But … you just moved here like that? Without knowing anyone?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "My dad accepted a job in a hospital here and decided that we should all move." I explained. "Did the same thing happen to Matsuoka-kun?"

"Not exactly… He moved to Australia alone. He went to a swimming school there."

"Oh. That must have been very scary to him – being all alone in a new country." I muttered. "I can imagine how tough it must have been. But it seems to have played out for the best, right? He's now the captain of a very strong swimming team." I added, smiling softly. "Plus, he gets to swim with his best friend. That must be nice too."

"It's nice being in the same team." Sousuke admitted, smiling lightly for a second. "But essentially, when you swim, you're on your own. Having your best friend on the team doesn't make you swim faster or better."

"Huh? But … your relationship with the rest of your team is important, isn't it?" I asked. "I mean, having your friends cheering you on while you're swimming makes you try harder, right?"

"If you are confident in your own abilities you don't need anyone cheering you on." He insisted.

"That's sad." I muttered.

"What is?" He asked, looking at me and narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Just the way that you think." I replied. "You think that you don't need anyone, right? That's good to some degree; it shows that you're independent. But … you go beyond that. Tell me honestly, besides Matsuoka-kun, is there anyone else you call a friend?"

He didn't answer my question. I sighed and shook my head. Just as I thought.

"What do you think of Nanase?" Sousuke suddenly asked.

"Eh? Haru-kun? W-well … I like him." I shrugged. "At first I thought that he was really weird. And I still think that sometimes, but not in a bad way. He's just different than me. To be honest, I can't understand most of the things he says, especially when he talks about water and swimming." I chuckled.

"He's not as great as you think." He said coldly.

I sighed.

"Look, Yamazaki-kun … I'm not sure what exactly your conflict with Haru-kun is, but can you please keep it between you and him? Don't try to include me in it. I just want to get along with everyone."

He looked at me with a puzzled expression, then shook his head, smiling lightly.

"You're so weird."

"W-well …" I blushed and looked away. "You're weird too! I can never tell if you're insulting me or trying to encourage me."

"Can't I do both?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes. There, he did it again, saying such confusing things!

"Do what you want." I sighed. "I'm too tired right now to argue."

Looking ahead, I was surprised to see that we were almost at my house. I didn't know how long we had been walking – usually I took the train home. I hadn't even noticed that we had been walking!

_Wait … doesn't this usually happen when you're with someone you like?_

I looked back at Sousuke, tilting my head slightly to the side. I still wasn't quite certain what to make of him. He was just as enigmatic as when I met him and he had skillfully avoided all my attempts to get to know him better. But … I did enjoy talking to him … and he was handsome …

Maybe I did have a crush on him?

"What are you staring at?"

"Eh?!" I flinched. Sousuke's deep voice had pierced right through my thoughts, bringing me back to reality. "Ah, s-sorry … I was caught up thinking about something …"

"Were you thinking about Nanase?"

"No." I shook my head, resisting the urge to chuckle. Just how obsessed was he with Haru? "Ah, we're almost at my house." I looked at Sousuke. "Um … you know, it's getting pretty late. You can spend the night at my place if you want to."

"I can't. They expect me to return tonight. I'll get in trouble if I don't go back."

"Oh, I see. So Samezuka Academy has some pretty strict rules, huh?" I asked.

"That's only to be expected." He nodded.

"Yeah, I guess… it looks like a pretty elite school." We had reached my house so I stopped and looked at Sousuke with a smile. "Well, thank you for walking me home, Yamazaki-kun."

"Don't sweat about it." He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away. He actually looked embarrassed as I thanked him. It was odd, seeing him like this.

_Alright … I should just go ahead and ask him. Even if he says no… at least I would have tried._

"Hey … Do you think that we c-could … exchange numbers?" I asked shyly. "I m-mean, I really enjoyed talking to you, so I thought that maybe … we could hang out again." I didn't get any response from Sousuke and blushed embarrassed. "Ah! N-nevermind! I-it was j-just a suggestion!"

"I don't mind." He said calmly and took his phone out. "What's your number?"

"Oh … Right!"

We exchanged numbers and then parted – Sousuke headed to the station and I went inside my house. I climbed the stairs up to my room and set my gym bag on the floor next to the bed. I opened the contact's list on my phone and smiled as I looked at my newest addition – Yamazaki Sousuke.

_Oh god … I __**do**__ have a crush on him …_

* * *

"Gou-chan … weren't we going to buy ingredients? What are we doing at a sports store?"

"We need to buy some supplies to make the team's meals even more nutritional. Especially **your** meals, Angel-kun!"

"Eh? My meals…?"

"Yes, you are still as skinny as you were before you joined the club! You need to build some muscles!" Gou said sternly, shaking a finger at me.

"Ah, are you sure you're not even a little obsessed with this?" I asked hesitantly.

She made a face at me, but before she could say anything there was a shrill, inhuman voice and someone jumped between us.

"Gou-san! Remember meee?"

"Ah! Uh … Aren't you Captain Mikoshiba's younger brother … uh, Kintarou?"

"Momotarou!" He corrected her. "Mikoshiba Momotarou! I'm a first year in the Samezuka swim team! My specialty is backstroke! My hobby is hunting for stag beetles!" At this point I noticed that Gou was looking rather terrified, but the guy kept on rambling, blissfully unaware that she was slowly retreating from him. "The biggest one I've caught so far was eight centimeters! My favorite kind of spaghetti is-" He suddenly stopped talking once he caught a glimpse of me and his grin widened. He grabbed my hands and pulled me closer. "Woaaaah! As expected of Gou-san, her friends are also cute!"

_Eh? Doesn't he realize that I'm a guy?_

Meanwhile Momotarou had started his exalted introduction again. There didn't seem to be anything that I could do to make him stop. Luckily, Rin appaeared seemingly out of nowhere, grabbed him and pulled him away from me. I sighed in relief, but then blushed immediately when I saw that Sousuke was standing right in front of me.

_Oh, god, I have no idea what to do now …_

After Momotarou was sent away, Rin explained to us that he had brought some of the Samezuka swim club members to buy new swimsuits. Apparently Sousuke and Nitori – a second-year student whom I had met during our joint practice – had tagged along.

"So are the others here too?" Rin asked.

"Nope, just us." Gou replied cheerfully. "We needed to buy some things so that Angel-kun can become muscular as soon as possible!"

"Gou-san! Gou-san's friend! What do you think about this? Or this? Or this one?"

Momotarou was at it again, showing us all kinds of rather flashy swimsuits. Finally, Rin seemed to have had enough of him so he forcefully dragged him away. Nitori immediately followed them. He looked worried – obviously there was no telling what Rin could do to the redhead.

"So, you want to build some muscle?" Sousuke asked me.

"A-ah … not really." I admitted quietly, glancing at Gou cautiously. "I've always had a small build. I take after my mom, you see. So I don't think I'll ever become as muscular as … well, you and the rest of the swimmers."

"Protein supplements will not help you much. You have nothing to turn into muscles." He reached out and grabbed my arm, squeezing it rather hard. I winced in pain. "You're literally skin and bones. First you need to gain some mass." He let go of my arm and shoved his hands in his pocket.

"Ah … thanks." I blushed lightly and rubbed my aching arm. "Well, I guess we should go, huh?"

"Right." Gou nodded. "Have fun you guys!"

"Bye." I smiled and waved at Sousuke before Gou and I walked away. I couldn't resist the urge to look back, so I did. I saw that Sousuke was still standing in the same spot, looking at me. For a second our eyes met and I quickly looked ahead, blushing like mad. "Ugh … this is killing me!"

"Hm? Angel-kun, did you say something?" Gou asked me. "H-hey … Your face is all red! Are you feeling alright?"

No … I definitely wasn't.

* * *

PS: I hope you guys don't mind if I portray Momotarou as having pansexual tendencies, I'm really having a hard time seeing him as 100% straight even with all his fawning over Gou. XD

Also, about the colors on Angel's swimsuit - teal and purple... Teal is for Sousuke's eyes (I thought it would be fitting XD) and purple is because I thought that Angel should have a sea-related animal like the rest and I wanted it to be a seahorse (I loooove seahorses) and all of the pictures of seahorses I found had some shade of purple in it, so I decided to add purple too :) As I said, it's not a very smart explanation XD


	5. Chapter 5

Ok, so here's the new chapter! I hope you guys like it.

And to that person who asked me what I think about Episode 4 (I'd really love to talk to you, you seem like a really nice person, btw. Do you have tumblr? My url is didyouexpectacoolurl) - I loved it! I love that it centered around Sousuke and Rin's relationship (little Sousuke is the cutest thing ever! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧) I also hope that this episode made everyone who thinks that Sousuke is just this selfish jerk wrong. But I do think that Sousuke's decision to swim in a relay was a bit too sudden - maybe he's got some hidden motive behind it?

Anyway, enjoy the new chapter and please tell me what you think about it! New reviews always make me happy!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"Uhhh …" I moaned and crouched down, placing a hand on my rumbling stomach. "I'm so hungry!" I pouted.

"Ehh?! But you just ate, Angel-kun!" Rei exclaimed in disbelief.

"But my stomach isn't used to Gou-chan's meals, so it doesn't think that I've already eaten!" I pointed out and wrinkled my nose. "I need some food that my body is used to."

"That doesn't make any biological sense!" Rei insisted, adjusting his glasses. "Besides, you didn't need to actually eat your bento. None of us ate ours."

"Nagisa-kun did." I reminded him. "Plus … Gou-chan made it herself … And I promised her that I'd build muscles. I can't go back on that." I replied, sighing.

_I even went ahead and agreed to have my whole diet changed because of it … Why do I always do that? Why do I always go out of way and do things that I don't really want to do?_

"Don't worry, Angel-kun, as soon as you get some muscles you'll realize that it was worth it!" Gou said cheerfully.

"I'd rather have a guy with muscles than just muscles…" I muttered without thinking and suddenly Sousuke's face popped up in my head. I clasped a hand over my mouth, blushing brightly. "Oh, no …"

I hadn't actually told any of my new friends about my sexuality, had I? That would explain why Gou and Rei were staring at me all bug-eyed. I chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of my head.

"A-ah … I suppose I should have been more tactful …" I muttered.

"So you like guys?" Gou asked. "For real?"

"How awesome, Angel-chan! Do you have a boyfriend now?" Nagisa asked.

"Nagisa! That's a very personal question to ask!" Rei scolded him and adjusted his glasses. "You shouldn't be so nosy!"

"Buuut we're friends! Angel-chan should tell us if he's dating someone!"

"Nagisa-kun, I spend all my time with you guys." I chuckled. "If I had a boyfriend, don't you think that at least one of you would have noticed something?"

"Maybe you have a boyfriend back home?" Nagisa suggested.

"No." I shook my head, smiling softly. "I **did** use to go out with someone, but we broke up long before I moved here."

"Awww, so sad…"

"What? Oh, no! It wasn't anything like that!" I chuckled. "See, we were best friends. In fact, we still communicate regularly even now and I still feel really close with him. We were friends since practically kindergarten. By the time we were fourteen we were inseparable and around the same time we started to figure out our sexualities. And when we realized we both liked guys we thought that we should start dating. It all sounded well in theory – we were close, we had the same interests, we shared lots of memories together and we enjoyed each other's company. But … it turned out that it wasn't enough. There was something missing, you know? That spark that makes two people attracted to each other … it just wasn't there." I smiled lightly. "We were together for a couple of months until we decided that it just wasn't working … so we broke up. It was a mutual thing and there weren't any hurt feelings, thankfully, so we still remained friends."

"Ah… So he wasn't your special someone?" Nagisa asked, frowning sadly.

"I suppose not." I replied. "But that just means that I need to keep looking, right? My "special someone" is still out there."

"Right!" Nagisa grinned broadly and nudged me. "Soooo … is there anyone you like?" He asked, grinning deviously.

Once again, Sousuke's face came to my mind. I blushed like mad. Why did I have to think about him at the most inappropriate of times? This was so embarrassing!

"N-no!" And that was the truth! Maybe I **did** have a crush on Sousuke, but that didn't mean that I liked him, right? It was probably just something temporary and it would go away soon.

"Are you suuuuure?" Nagisa teased and poked me in the left cheek. "You're blushing a lot! I bet you're thinking about the guy you like right now!" He laughed.

"W-what?! Nooo…."

* * *

_Ugh … The sun is really bright today! _

I squinted my eyes and tried to block the sun with one hand. I was sitting on the steps of a shrine, with my sketchbook lying on my knees. Since it was Sunday, I had no official swimming practice and Makoto had advised me to rest, worried that I might be pushing myself too hard. However, I couldn't stay at home because, well … there was food there. The **wrong** kind of food, according to Gou. I knew that if I stayed at home all day, I'd eventually be tempted to ruin my diet. And I didn't want this to happen, partly because I was determined to keep my word and not let my team down, and partly because Gou actually scared me a little when she was angry.

"Oi, it's you … Angel, right?"

"Huh?" I looked up. The sun was shining directly into my eyes, so all I could see was two tall figures. "Uh …" The figures came closer and I could finally see who it was. I gulped when I saw that it was Rin and ... Sousuke. "Oh … hello." I said, blushing lightly, and set my sketchbook down beside me.

"What are you doing here?" Rin asked me.

"Oh, just killing some time. What about you guys?"

"Sousuke and I were going to see this movie that just came out." Rin explained, leaning on a pillar. "How come you aren't swimming? I got the impression that you're quite the hard worker." He added, smirking at me and revealing his pointy teeth.

"M-makoto told me to take it easy … I think he's worried that I might hurt myself or something." I chuckled nervously.

"Well, it's true that you need to look after yourself. Nitori got a nasty cramp yesterday because he was pushing himself too hard." Rin clicked his tongue and shook his head. "He's so thick! I keep telling him to be more careful."

"Well, if he's working so hard that means that he doesn't want to let you down, right?" I suggested.

"I guess." He smiled lightly.

I turned to Sousuke and blushed brightly when I saw that he had taken my sketchbook and was rifling through it. What if he didn't like my drawings? Those sketched weren't even that well-drawn! They were just doodles that I had done for my own amusement while being bored.

"You drew all of these?" He asked and I nodded shyly. "They're good. You should have joined your school's art club."

"I didn't want to join the art club." I shrugged. "I like drawing, but … well, I'm not passionate about it like most of the people in the art club are. It's not something that I want to do for a living or anything like that. I just like to draw when I'm bored or have some spare time, that's all."

"You draw pretty much everything, don't you?" Rin asked, glancing at my sketches.

"Ah, yeah." I chuckled. "I draw everything that catches my eye, really."

That was the truth. My sketchbooks were filled with sketches of buildings, plants, clouds, animals, people, and even oddly-shaped cracks in the pavement. Anything that I had found even mildly interesting, I drew. And of course, I had drawn my teammates lots of times … and Sousuke too. I was secretly glad that the sketches I've made of Sousuke were in another sketchbook. It would have been really embarrassing if Sousuke and Rin saw them – I didn't know Rin well enough, but I was sure that he would tease me about it. He just looked the type to do that.

I reached out to take my sketchbook back, but to my surprise Sousuke didn't make any move to give it to me. He just kept staring at the pages, but I couldn't read his expression. Rin glanced at his friend, puzzled for a moment before he seemed to realize something. He smirked in amusement.

"Here." Sousuke finally handed me the sketchbook. "Rin, let's go."

"Right." He nodded. "See ya later, Angel-kun."

"Yeah. Bye." I smiled lightly, waving at the two.

I watched after them as they walked away and sighed slightly relieved. That wasn't as awkward as I had thought it would be. Still, I couldn't help but smile as I watched Sousuke and Rin – they seemed like such good friends, even if they did have a tendency to bicker a lot – which they were doing even at this moment, it seemed.

I tilted my head slightly to one side as I watched them. Apparently Rin had made some comment at Sousuke and was now looking at him with a teasing smirk. Meanwhile Sousuke had his arms crossed and was saying something with a scowl on his face. Unfortunately, I couldn't hear anything because they were standing too far away from me. Finally, they seem to reach some sort of conclusion on how to resolve their conflict.

_Huh? Are they … playing rock, paper, scissors?_

It seemed like Rin had won. At the very least he seemed to be mocking Sousuke, shoving him playfully and waving his fist in the air. I shrugged and took my sketchbook. I started to draw again, trying to finish a sketch of the shrine that I was sitting in front of.

"Hey."

I looked up and blinked surprised when I saw Sousuke standing in front of me. Rin was still a bit further away, watching us with an amused grin.

"A-ah… yeah?"

"Would you like to go with me and Rin to the movies?" He asked.

"W-what?" I blushed. "Um … are you sure? I wouldn't want to be a bother …"

Before replying, Sousuke turned to look at Rin, who gave him a sly smirk.

"You won't be a bother."

"Um … alright then."

I put the sketchbook and pencil away and stood up, flinging my bag over my shoulder. I gave Sousuke a shy smile and to my surprise he smiled back. We returned to Rin and the three of us headed to the movie theatre. I noticed slightly embarrassed that Rin was doing his best to shove Sousuke closer to me and blushed lightly.

"So … which movie exactly are we going to watch?" I asked.

"It's this new action movie that just came out." Rin replied excitedly. "It's about this high school track team whose bus crashes down and they find shelter in this old gym. I won't spoil it for you, but just know that the gym isn't abandoned."

"Eh … that sounds more like a horror flick …" I muttered.

"So what? Are ya scared?" Rin grinned. "Don't worry. If you **do** get scared, Sousuke will be there to protect you!" He slapped his friend rather harshly on the back.

_Um … he realizes he's being far too obvious, right?_

"Ah … That won't be necessary …" I blushed and looked down. "I actually find horror movies fun. It's all just special effects anyway, right?"

"Right." Sousuke nodded, giving Rin a deadly glare.

"Anyway … Sousuke, you lost, so now you have to buy the tickets."

"Fine." He replied calmly, shoving his fists in his pockets.

"E-eh … Wait, you don't need to do that! I'll pay for my own ticket."

"Don't worry about it!" Rin wrapped an arm around my shoulders and squeezed me tightly. "Me and Sousuke have this agreement – whoever loses, pays for everyone. And he lost, naturally." He flashed the other a toothy grin. "So he's gotta pay."

"But he didn't lose to me." I pointed out. "He lost to you, so it's ok to pay for your ticket, but not for mine."

"Fine, he should take a go at you and when he loses, he'll pay for you too." Rin chuckled merrily.

"Eh … Why do you think that he'll lose?" I blinked confused. I had pretty bad luck when it came to these kinds of games.

"Coz he **always** loses!"

Sousuke frowned and crossed his arms, looking away from us. I felt bad for him – I could imagine how embarrassing this must be for him. I smiled lightly and tried to free myself from Rin's tight grasp.

"I don't think we need to do anything like that." I said, trying to be firm. "Either I pay for my own ticket or I'm not going."

"Hehe …" Rin snickered. "So you're tougher than you look, huh?" He looked at Sousuke, then leaned in and whispered something to him. Sousuke replied by kicking him hard in the shin. "Ouch! You jerk!" And they were at it again, squabbling playfully.

I chuckled. Those two were just like a pair of kittens. They were playing, but at the same time I had the feeling that one wrong gesture, one word too much and everything could get serious. Still, it was nice to see Sousuke acting the way he was right now. He seemed to be more at ease around Rin and not his usual stoic self. He showed genuine emotions – he was smiling and laughing. It was a nice sight.

_I wish that he could be like that with me too … it would be nice if I could make him smile at least once._

* * *

PS - I had to end this chapter here because otherwise it would have been far too long... (_) What do you guys think of matchmaker Rin? XD I think that he should be able to realize pretty quickly that Sousuke is interested in Angel. And being the good friend that he is, he'll try to help - and embarrass Sousuke at the same time too! :D


	6. Chapter 6

Hello! So this is chapter 6! I hope you guys like it!

Also, a little clarification - Angel **knows** that he's gay. He's known it for more than two years. He just isn't sure if he really likes Sousuke, but that doesn't mean that he's doubting his sexuality. I apologize if my bad writing has led some people to think that Angel isn't sure about his sexuality.

Now onto something really cute - Angel is about 5'5 (1.65 meters) tall and weighs about 114 lbs (52 kg). According to his wiki page, Sousuke is 6'1 (1.85 meters) and weighs 168 lbs (76 kg). Just imagine their height and size difference. Isn't it cute? (≧ω≦)

Oh, and by the way, I'll post a new chapter after the new episode comes out on Wednesday. So it might take me a while to update. Please be patient! (^^;)

Anyway, reviews are welcome, like always! Enjoy! :)

* * *

**Chapter 6**

The movie theatre we were headed to wasn't far away from the shrine. It was a small, kind of run-down place that showed mostly lower-rated movies, if the posters that hung on the walls were anything to go by. This was probably why they were showing a horror flick in the middle of the day.

"Hmm … There don't seem to be many people here…" I commented, looking around. That was a **major** understatement – Rin, Sousuke and I were the only people around, if you didn't count the people who actually worked there.

"Even better. It would be awesome if we could have the movie theatre to ourselves, eh?" Rin grinned and nudged his friend in the ribs with his elbow. "Sousuke, buy me some popcorn too." He ordered, smirking.

"I never agreed to buy you food, you jackass, only tickets." Sousuke replied coldly, frowning at the redhead.

"You agreed to pay for the movie, and what's a movie without snacks? Right, Angel?" He grinned as he turned to me.

"A-ah … well, normally I'd agree… but now…"

"Oh, right, Gou told me that you're on a special, muscle-building diet." Rin smirked. "How's it going so far?"

"Horrible! I'm craving even foods that I didn't like eating. I guess it's that whole forbidden fruit thing … literally! Gou told me not to eat kiwis and now I want to eat them. And I **hate** kiwis!" I sighed. "I guess my will isn't as strong as I thought, huh?"

"You'll be fine. You just need to get used to it." He looked at me from head to toe. "It must be hard. You look like one of those people who only eat lettuce and carrots."

"What? No!" I chuckled. "Actually, I used to eat a lot. Especially sweets – I'm a sucker for ice cream with sprinkles and chocolate syrup. I just… well, I seem to have a fast metabolism or something, because I've always been skinny no matter how much I eat." I shrugged. "My mom's like that too, so I guess I've got it from her."

"If it's your genetics then you'll build muscles even slower." Sousuke commented idly.

"Yeah, I know that." I nodded. "But I promised my friends and I can't go back on my word. So I should at least try my best, right? If I do my best but still fail, then it just wasn't meant to be."

"I'm curious." Sousuke turned to look at me. "You told me that you didn't want muscles. So why are you on this diet then?"

"I … don't really know." I replied, looking down at the ground and blushing. "I just … I can't seem to say no to my teammates. You know, at first I was supposed to just make them a few posters to recruit new members. That was all. And then they asked me to join … so I did. Don't get me wrong, I'm having a lot of fun and I don't regret joining the swim club at all! Haru, Makoto, Rei, Nagisa, Gou … They're all really amazing people. I'm happy that they are my friends." I smiled softly. "It's fun, swimming with them."

"Swimming is about more than just having fun." Sousuke said.

"Maybe to you." I replied with a soft smile. "You and Matsuoka-kun want to swim professionally, right? That's why you are so serious about swimming."

"Right!" Rin grinned and shoved me playfully, making me lose my balance. I had to grab Sousuke's arm to stop myself from falling down. I blushed and hastily started to apologize.

"Rin, be careful." Sousuke scolded his friend sternly. "What if he had got hurt?"

"But he didn't." Rin shrugged nonchalantly. "You were there to catch him." He snickered and winked at me. "Now, let's go. We're gonna miss the movie if we keep hanging here."

"Right." I nodded.

"You and Sousuke go buy the tickets. I need to go to the restroom." He slapped Sousuke on the back. "Be sure to get good seats!" He winked again and left.

Sousuke sighed and shook his head slightly, glaring after Rin.

"Um … is it me or is Matsuoka-kun acting different than he usually does?" I asked a bit flustered. "He seems to be … uh, really intent on having me around …" I blushed. "B-but I could be wrong!"

Sousuke looked at me, but didn't say anything. Maybe I **was** wrong? I had only met Rin a couple of times, so I didn't know him that well. Maybe this really was how he behaved outside of swimming practice. And as for Sousuke looking so annoyed about Rin's antics … well, they were best friends and what kind of best friend would Rin be if he didn't take every chance to embarrass Sousuke?

"Let's go get the tickets." Sousuke said calmly. "And don't worry about Rin."

"If you say so … " I muttered. "Hey, Yamazaki-kun … Do you really want me here? I mean, I could think up some excuse and leave if you don't want me to watch the movie with you and Matsuoka-kun …"

"It's fine. You can stay if you want to." He replied, looking at me. "So you really like horror flicks?"

"Well, I think they're entertaining and a nice way to kill a couple of hours." I replied. "To be honest, I do like movies with some sort of complicated plot. You know, the types that you need to watch a second time just to understand what's happened. And horror flicks … well, they aren't exactly masterpieces when it comes to plots." I chuckled. "It's more blood, guts and monsters."

"True." Sousuke nodded. He placed his hand on my back and I flinched slightly – his hand was so big and warm! "Let's go get those tickets then."

* * *

"Man, that was a cool movie!" Rin exclaimed while we were walking out of the movie theatre. He looked at me and smirked. "Though a few times it looked like you were scared. I thought you said this was all special effects." He teased.

"I wasn't scared, I was disgusted." I replied. "Some of the scenes were really graphic." I shuddered slightly. "What kind of monster was that anyway? I haven't seen anything like it before and I don't think they ever made it clear in the movie …"

"They never even showed it clearly." Sousuke nodded. "All we got was some blurry point of view shots and a few patches of scaled skin."

"That's because it's scarier if they keep the monster a secret!" Rin insisted. "You know, fear of the unknown and all that …"

"Fear of the unknown is one thing. But that monster was just gross." I pouted. "And it didn't make sense – if the monster needs fresh human organs, how was it able to survive when it's said that the gym has been abandoned for more than thirty years? And how was it able to lay those eggs we saw in the end scene when it was only one monster? How was it able to reproduce?"

"Man, you ask too many questions!" Rin groaned and cracked his knuckles.

"Maybe … " I chuckled. "Come on, you have to admit that there were a lot of plot holes in that flick."

"Tsk … Fine." He shrugged. "I still liked it."

I chuckled and turned to Sousuke.

"What about you, Yamazaki-kun?" I asked. "What did you think of the movie?"

"Whatever." He replied, with his hands in his pockets.

"So you didn't like it?" I asked.

"It was okay, I guess." He shrugged.

I blinked and looked at Rin questioningly. Sometimes I couldn't understand at all what Sousuke was saying. It seemed like he wasn't one to show what he was thinking or feeling so easily.

"So … this was really fun, but I think that I should head home. I have this huge Math test tomorrow and I'd like to go over my notes one last time." I said, giving the two a light smile.

"You know, Sousuke is very good at Math, he could help you with your studying." Rin suggested with a toothy grin. The other glared at him.

"Ah … it's fine, I don't think I need help." I chuckled. "I'm not as hopeless as you might think, Matsuoka-kun!"

"I didn't say you were hopeless." He snickered. "But you could always use some help, right? And I'm sure that Sousuke will be **exalted** to help you!"

"Well, if I need help, he'll be the first I call." I chuckled softly. "Anyway, I'll be going home now. It was really fun hanging out with you guys. Thanks for inviting me to come with you."

"No problem, it was fun having you around. Maybe we can hang out again." Rin glanced at Sousuke and nudged him in the ribs. "What do you think, Sousuke?"

"Ah … I'd like to hang out with you again." I said, blushing lightly. "Well, see you at our next joint practice."

"Yeah. See ya around, Angel."

"Bye." Sousuke said in a dull voice.

I waved at them and started walking away. I kind of didn't want to leave Rin and Sousuke – despite Rin's slightly embarrassing behaviour, I still ended up having a lot of fun with the two - but I didn't want to neglect my school work as well.

"Hey."

I turned around and saw Sousuke running towards me. I stopped walking and looking at him with curiosity.

"What is it, Yamazaki-kun?"

He stopped less than a foot away from me, panting slightly. I blinked confused as I noticed his slightly flushed cheeks. Was I wrong or did he look kind of flustered?

"The thing is …" He looked away and rubbed his upper arm. "I … liked that you came with us today."

"Oh." I blushed. "W-well … I'm glad you think so, Yamazaki-kun."

"Yeah …" He glanced back at Rin, as if looking for encouragement. "Good luck on your test tomorrow."

"Thanks." I smiled and turned to leave again. "Bye, Yamazaki-kun."

"Wait." I stopped at looked back at Sousuke. He stared at me for a whole minute, not moving or speaking at all. I raised my eyebrows, not really understanding what was happening. Suddenly, Sousuke leaned down and pecked me on the cheek. The kiss lasted no more than a fraction of a second and I wasn't even sure if it truly had happened or not. Sousuke straightened up again and turned his back to me. "Bye." He said and started walking away quickly.

"Yeah …" I muttered in a total daze, placing a hand on my cheek. "Bye …"

* * *

Oh, by the way, I tried to create Angel using an anime avatar maker since I can't draw ... (╥_╥) What do you guys think?


	7. Chapter 7

Hello! I am sooo sorry for being so late with updating, but I've been going through some personal stuff. (╥_╥) Plus, I tried to write a chapter based on episode 5 but I didn't really like how it turned out when I included Angel. So have this little completely made-up chapter that takes place the night before the regionals. (I live in constant fear that episode 6 will destroy the continuity of my story -sobs-) Hope you guys like it. (Also, a little bit of warning - there's a moment in the chapter where there is a slightly nsfw discussion about Angel's butt XD I think that Sousuke is a bit OOC there, but I found that whole scene extremely funny and well, it's my story, so I decided to include it. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧)

Also, I've written a little one-shot about Angel having a sleepover with Rin, Nitori, Sousuke and Momotarou. It's completely random and doesn't have any place in this story, but if anyone's interested I could touch it up and post it here.

Anyway, reviews are welcome! Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 7**

"The regionals are tomorrow, so everyone make sure that you get a good rest tonight!" Makoto told us with a gentle smile on his face while we were walking home from swimming practice.

"Thanks, Mako-chan! You take care too!" Nagisa grinned and waved his fist in the air. "And let's all do our best tomorrow!"

We chatted for a little longer and then parted ways – Makoto and Haru went one way, and Nagisa, Rei, and I went another. Nagisa noticed that I was looking down at my feet while I was walking and smiled softly, giving me a playful poke in the ribs to get my attention.

"Don't worry, Angel-chan, you will do fine tomorrow!" He smiled.

"I'll probably finish last …" I muttered. After a lot of persuasion, I had finally agreed to take part in the 100 m breaststroke event. Makoto kept telling me that my time was very good and that I had a real chance of making it, but I wasn't so sure. Maybe he was just trying to cheer me up. "Ugh …. I never should have agreed to participate!" I covered my face with my hands, letting out a low groan. "I'll be the laughing stock of the whole tournament!"

"No, you won't." Rei smiled softly and Nagisa nodded in agreement. "You've improved so much since you joined the club."

"That's right!" Nagisa grinned. "Even if you don't manage to do as well as you'd like, at least you'll have a taste of what's it like to be in a swimming competition, so you won't be as nervous next year."

"Thanks." I smiled softly, touched by how supportive my friends were. "I promise that I'll do my best. But … well, I don't want to be negative, but could you guys please not get your hopes up very much? I just don't want to feel like I've disappointed you if I don't qualify."

"You can never disappoint us, Angel-chan!" Nagisa grinned and hugged me. "Just remember to have fun!"

"Alright." I chuckled. "Thank you, Nagisa-kun."

* * *

A few hours later I was almost ready to go to bed – I had eaten my dinner, I had my gym bag prepared for the tournament tomorrow, and I was already in my pajamas. Now I was in the bathroom, brushing my teeth. I was still feeling very nervous – now that I was alone, all I could think about was what would happen tomorrow. Somehow I kept imagining the worst-case scenario … What if I slipped on the block and messed up my dive? What if I got a bad cramp? What if I accidentally took a breath underwater and choked?

I returned to my bedroom and climbed on the bed, fluffing my pillow. Then I checked my alarm clock to make sure that it was set – the last thing I wanted was to over-sleep accidentally.

"Hm?" I looked at my phone which was buzzing from the nightstand. I took it and my eyes widened when I saw that I had received a text from Sousuke. "What could he want at this hour?"

_[I'm at the station near your house. Can you come?]_

I furrowed my eyebrows as I stared at my phone's screen in confusion. Why would Sousuke text me all of a sudden? This was the first time that we had messaged me since we exchanged numbers… And besides, he was swimming in the competition tomorrow. We would certainly see each other then … So why would he text me so urgently to come to the station?

I looked at the time. It was a bit late and I wanted to have a good night's rest, but … this was Sousuke. He was asking me to come and see him - something that he had never done before on his own volition.

_I guess I can spare half an hour at least … It would be rude not to see what he wants._

I sent Sousuke a message that I'd be there in five minutes, then got out of bed. I threw on a pair of worn-out jeans, a green T-shirt and a pair of old sneakers and then left my room. I told my mother that I was going out for some fresh air, explaining that I was feeling a bit nervous about tomorrow's race and just needed to calm down.

I jogged to the station and found Sousuke standing near the entrance, leaning on a pillar with his hands in his pockets. He was looking down at the ground and his eyes were closed. When he heard me coming closer, he looked up and gave me a light smile. That made me blush lightly.

"Ah … hi." I greeted him shyly. He didn't say anything and after a minute of silence, I spoke again. "Um … why did you ask me to come here?"

"Tomorrow we'll be rivals."

It was a statement, short and firm. I bit my lower lip – of course, our teams would be competing against each other, but that didn't really mean that we should act like rivals, right?

"W-well … technically, yes, our teams will be rivals." I nodded. "But I don't think that you and I will be … I mean, we won't even be competing in the same event! I doubt that you'll be swimming in the 100 meter breaststroke."

"You won't be swimming in the relay?" He asked.

"Of course not!" I laughed. "I watched Haru, Makoto, Rei and Nagisa practice for the relay and they were just so perfect together! They were like some sort of machine, you know? Perfect harmony." I smiled. "Besides, I'm not a good enough swimmer to participate in a relay. I wouldn't even be participating if Makoto hadn't persuaded me."

"I think you'll do great in your event." Sousuke smiled lightly. "I hear that you've been working hard."

"Ah … Thanks." I blushed lightly. "Good luck to you tomorrow."

"Thanks. But luck has almost nothing to do with swimming."

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to have some." I chuckled. "But I still don't understand why you wanted to see me … We'll see each other tomorrow before the events for sure."

"But tomorrow we will be officially rivals. I wanted to see you before that."

"Oh." So Sousuke was firmly intent on viewing me as his rival … "Well, in that case … How about we agree that whatever happens in the tournament stays there. Like once it's over, it wouldn't matter who qualified and who didn't. Once the events are over, we are no longer rivals. How does that sound?" I suggested.

"Alright." He raised his fist and I chuckled lightly as I bumped it with my own fist. "That sounds reasonable."

"Yeah, besides, it's ju-Ah!" I gasped and shivered slightly as a cold gust of wind blew our way.

"You should have taken a jacket." Sousuke reprimanded me. He took his jacket off and wrapped it around my shoulders. "Here."

"T-thanks …" I blushed. The jacket was warm and smelled like him. Sousuke had a nice, masculine scent. "B-but … aren't you going to be cold? I don't want you to get sick right before the tournament …"

"I'll be fine." He smiled lightly. "Besides, I don't want **you** to get sick."

I smiled and looked down, trying to hide my embarrassment. Still, I couldn't help but wonder why Sousuke was acting so nice to me. He was usually so aloof around people. Not that I minded, of course. I actually liked that he was being friendly for a change.

_I wonder just how nice he could be?_

"Hey … You must have been in a lot of swimming competitions." I spoke quietly.

"I have." He nodded.

"So … How do you deal with all the anxiety?" I asked.

He was silent for a while, obviously pondering my question.

"I don't remember ever being anxious." He finally replied. "I know that I am good at swimming, so why should I feel anxious?"

"Hehe … " I chuckled. "Well, it may work for you, but I am not as good as you, so I am really nervous about tomorrow. I've been having this nightmare that I forget my swimsuit and I try to swim in my underwear but it's not allowed so the Iwatobi team gets disqualified because of me." I sighed, looking down at my feet. "Horrible …" I muttered.

I looked up when I suddenly heard an odd snorting sound. To my surprise it turned out to be Sousuke trying to conceal his laughter. I blushed brightly and pouted, punching him playfully in the shoulder.

"Hey! I was sharing my fears with you! D-don't laugh!"

"S-sorry! But that's just … so ridiculous!" He snickered.

I huffed and crossed my arms, turning my back to Sousuke.

"I'm never sharing a secret with you again …" I muttered.

"Sorry." He apologized again, this time with a calmer voice, and patted me on the back. "But are you still feeling nervous?"

"I …" I stopped and blinked. "No … Actually, I'm not." I turned to look at him with amazement. "How did you do that?"

"I just tried to distract you." He explained. "And that story was rather funny. But even if you forget your swimsuit, there'll still be enough time to go get a new one."

"I guess … But with a wonderful start like that, having forgotten my swimsuit, how can I expect to do well?"

"You can try to swim in the nude." He said with a smirk. "Maybe once the judges see those freckles on your butt they'll put you in first place."

"That would make the judges quite the perverts, if you ask m- Waaaait …" I eyed Sousuke suspiciously. "How do you now about my freckles **there**?"

"I caught a glimpse of them when you were changing after one of our joint practices."

"You stared at my butt long enough to notice that I have freckles there?" I blinked. "I'm not sure if I should feel creeped out or flattered …"

_Creeped out … Definitely creeped out._

"It's not like I did it on purpose." He shrugged. "I just looked up and saw you."

I blushed brightly. Ok, maybe staring at me while I was changing was kind of unsettling, but … well, it was Sousuke! It was the guy I had a crush on and if he liked the freckles on my butt then so be it.

"Um … So I think that I should go back home … " I muttered. "It's getting kind of late and we both need some sleep, right?"

"Yeah." He nodded and looked at me, hesitant for a moment. "Can I … um … no, nevermind."

"What is it?" I asked curious.

"Forget it." He looked away, frowning slightly.

I sighed and shook the jacket off of me, handing it back to Sousuke.

"Thank you for the jacket. It was really warm." I smiled.

"Welcome." He replied, taking the jacket from me.

"So … I'll see you tomorrow then." I turned to leave, but suddenly found myself surrounded by a pair of strong arms. I blinked surprised and shifted slightly when I realized that Sousuke was actually hugging me. "Um … Sousuke?"

"Sorry." He muttered with his nose buried in my hair.

"N-no … you don't need to apologize." I smiled softly and wrapped my arms around him – it was like trying to hug a huge rock. "Is this what you wanted to ask me?"

"…" He hesitated for a moment. "Yes."

I blushed and relaxed my body in Sousuke's arms. It felt so nice to be held by him – he was so warm and I felt so safe! I was so happy that he had hugged me. I wished that we could stay like this longer, but I knew that I had to go home. And he had to go back to Samezuka Academy.

"Yamazaki-kun … I should go … " I sighed. "Um … Maybe we can meet after the tournament? We can … um … continue with this?"

He looked at me slightly wide-eyed and then smiled, nodding lightly.

"Sure, that sounds like a plan."

I licked my lips slowly and then softly kissed Sousuke on the cheek. I thought that with the way he had been acting, he wouldn't mind me doing that. And indeed, even if my action had caught him off guard, he didn't show any dislike.

"Once again, good luck tomorrow."

"Thanks. You too." He replied, patting me on the back gently before he turned around, disappearing into the station.

* * *

PS - So someone on tumblr messaged me saying that I wasn't portraying Sousuke accurately ... I apologize for that, but we really don't know much about his character. I've based the way I write him on what I've seen so far in the anime and what I've read from his Wiki page (I can't find a translation of High Speed 2 anywhere :/) The only trait that I've given Sousuke that isn't canonically confirmed is that he isn't good at flirting. I just think that he wouldn't have much experience with flirting and dating because he thinks that it would waste time that he could spend practicing.


	8. Chapter 8

Here's chapter 8! ^_^ It's loosely based on on episode 6 and it has a few spoilers, so those of you who haven't watched it yet are warned. Anyway, I won't be posting a new chapter until after I've watched episode 7, which comes out on the 13th, so you'll have to wait a while for an update. Sorry about that, but I'd like to keep my story as close to canon as I can.

I am considering posting a few Free one-shots in the mean time, though, so you should check those out! ^_^

Anyway, please enjoy the new chappie and please leave a review! I'd really like to know what you guys think of the story so far!

* * *

**Chapter 8**

I burst into the restroom and rushed to the first empty stall I found. I kneeled over the toilet bowl and in just a few seconds I had emptied the entire contents of my stomach in it. I breathed heavily and wrinkled my nose at the appalling and acid-like taste in my mouth. I moved away, flushing my vomit down the toilet.

Needless to say, I was feeling nervous. And the weird thing was that I wasn't worried so much about my own performance – I knew that no matter how hard I tried, I wouldn't pass the prelims. That was the harsh truth. That didn't mean that I wouldn't try my best, of course, I just wasn't deluding myself. I was more worried about my teammates' swimming. From what I had seen upon arriving – before I had felt the urge to throw up that is – a lot of swimmers from different schools were going to compete. They all looked very tough … I hoped that Nagisa, Makoto, Rei and Haru were going to do their best and win in their events.

I sighed and sat back, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Here."

"Oh, thanks." I took the paper towel that had been offered to me and started to wipe my mouth with it before I jumped up startled, turning around. I blushed brightly when I realized that Sousuke was standing directly behind me. With his height and size, he took up all the available space in the tiny stall. "Yamazaki-kun?!"

_This looks disturbingly like this video I once saw …_

I blushed and shook my head, trying to get the very inappropriate images out of my mind.

"Still nervous?" Sousuke asked me.

"Y-yeah …" I covered my mouth with my hand. "S-sorry … my breath must be terrible right now."

"You threw up, of course that your breath would stink." He chuckled, shaking his head lightly.

"Um …. How did you know that I was in here?" I asked. "Did you … follow me?"

"You ran past me on your way to the restroom. You looked sick, so I was worried about you."

"Oh … I didn't notice you." I had to admit that it was nice of Sousuke to be worried. "I'm just nervous, that's all. Once the tournament is over I'll be fine."

"By the way, you're swimming in the 100 meter breaststroke, right?" He asked. "Nitori from our team is also swimming in the same event."

"And so is Nagisa from our team." I sighed. "Why am I even competing … It's obvious that I'll be last!"

Sousuke sighed and grabbed me by the shoulders, squeezing them rather hard. I winced quietly.

"Can you stop being so negative?" He asked with a tired voice and started to rub my shoulders and upper back slowly. "Now just take deep breaths. That will calm you down."

Calm me down?! How could anything calm me down while he was massaging my shoulders? How could Sousuke possibly expect this to happen? I blushed brightly and tried to do as I was told. I took in a few shaky breaths and relaxed against Sousuke's wide palms.

"You seem to be pretty calm." I commented, closing my eyes. "You're swimming butterfly, right?"

"Actually, no. I'm not competing today." He replied.

"Huh?" I blinked stupidly and looked at him completely surprised. "But … You're one of the best butterfly swimmers in the country! Why wouldn't you swim in the event?"

He frowned slightly and looked away, letting go of my shoulders. I bit my lower lip, slightly concerned – when Sousuke and I met last night, I got the impression that he would be competing today. I was actually looking forward to seeing him swim.

Why would he sit this out? Was it because of Haru? That seemed a bit ridiculous – Haru was swimming freestyle, as he liked to remind us all the time.

_That reminds me … I have to go back to the others. They're probably worried about me._

"I should go back to my team … and I need to change. My event is the first one." I sighed. "At least it will be over soon."

"Just remember to stay calm." Sousuke told me.

"Thanks." I smiled and took one step to the stall door before I realized that he hadn't moved even a little bit. I shifted awkwardly in one place, uncertain of what to do. "Um … "

Sousuke was looking at me with a weird expression on his face. He didn't say anything and I wasn't really sure what to say either – every time he was silent I felt like something bad had happened and on instinct, I immediately thought that I was the one who had done something wrong. But just as I was about to ask what was going on, he put his hand on my cheek and smiled lightly while his thumb brushed over my lips gently. I froze in complete shock.

"Um … " I blushed, trying to pull out a single clever thought from the mess that my mind had turned into. His hand was so warm and was just the right size for me to nuzzle my cheek in it …

Slowly, Sousuke leaned closer, not breaking eye contact with me. My breath hitched in my throat when I realized what was about to happen. We were going to kiss … I could see it in his eyes. My heart started beating wildly in my chest as I stared back into those deep teal pools. This was something that I had imagined us doing practically ever since I first saw Sousuke. And now it was happening.

… _Wait … No! It can't happen now!_

I quickly stepped back and covered my mouth with my hand. He was surprised when I moved away from him and then looked down, frowning. I could tell that my reaction deeply hurt and disappointed him.

"Sorry … " He muttered. "I thought that … Nevermind …"

"No, it's not that." I replied quickly, scared that he might have got the wrong idea. "It's … you see … I just threw up. Um … there's no way a kiss could be good after that, you know."

"Oh." His face brightened at my explanation and he smiled lightly. "Right."

"Um … can you wait a bit for this?" I asked hopeful. "Like maybe after the tournament and after I've brushed my teeth?"

"Sure." He nodded. "Don't worry about it."

He walked out of the stall and I followed him. We exited the restroom at the same time. I immediately saw my teammates – they were standing nearby and were chatting happily. Right now Nagisa was gesturing enthusiastically, obviously demonstrating how he would swim in the race. Everyone was watching him show off his swimming technique. Everyone except Haru, actually. As if he was psychic, he looked our way the second Sousuke and I stepped out of the restroom. He looked mildly surprised – which in his case meant that he was shocked – and then frowned slightly as he looked at Sousuke. I looked at the taller boy too and noticed that he had visibly stiffened. His eyes had become steel cold and his jaw was clenched tightly. I frowned slightly – apparently those two still had some sort of cold war going on between them. I said goodbye to Sousuke and returned to my friends.

"Ah, Angel-kun, are you feeling alright now?" Makoto asked me, eyeing me with a worried look.

"Yeah, I'm feeling better." I nodded. "I'm just nervous, Makoto-kun … This is my first tournament ever."

"Yeah, last year Rei-chan was pretty nervous too. Remember, Rei-chan?" Nagisa asked and nudged Rei playfully.

"I was not! I was just reasonably concerned for my performance." Rei replied, turning away from Nagisa and adjusting his glasses.

I chuckled. Those two bickered like a married couple! But seeing all of my teammates so calm and cheerful made me feel less nervous too.

"Angel-chan, don't worry about racing me!" Nagisa chirped and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "But know that I will swim my hardest!"

"I know." I smiled. "And just so you know, I'll be cheering for you in my head while I'm swimming." I looked at the rest of the team. "And you should cheer for Nagisa too, guys."

"We will cheer for you too, Angel-kun." Gou smiled at me. "You're part of the team and we should support you too!"

"Thanks." I muttered, looking down. I really didn't think that I deserved any cheering, truth be told. I wasn't a good swimmer like the others.

"Come on, let's go change into our swimsuits!"

Nagisa grabbed me by the hand and dragged me to the changing rooms. There were a few people there already, including Nitori from the Samezuka team. Nagisa ran to him and playfully pushed him.

"Ai-chan!"

Nitori lost his balance and almost fell down, but luckily he managed to straighten up – and to keep the towel still wrapped around his waist, which was rather impressive in my opinion. He flushed embarrassed and then scowled at Nagisa.

"I already asked you not to call me that." He pouted.

I chuckled and took my swimsuit. We had all bought new ones – it was Rei and Nagisa's idea – for the tournament. I quickly put it on – the idea of undressing in a room with other people still made me feel a bit embarrassed.

"Ready?" Nagisa asked excitedly, jumping in one place.

"As ready as I can be …" I nodded.

"Let's go!"

We went to the pool and I blinked in shock when I saw how many people had come to watch us swim – I never realized how a popular a sport it was a round here. I felt my stomach tighten painfully and winced quietly. Nagisa noticed that immediately and grinned.

"Don't worry, Angel-chan!" He pointed at our team who were sitting behind a large yellow banner that Gou and I had made for the tournament. "See! Everyone's cheering for us!"

I smiled and adjusted my goggles, then stepped on the starting block. I took a deep breath and stared at the pool. I tried to remember everything that my teammates had told me about swimming. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the other swimmers getting ready to dive in as well.

_Ok … This is it. There's no going back now._

* * *

"Good job today!" Gou exclaimed as we were walking out of the stadium. The first day of the tournament was over and we couldn't be happier – Haru, Makoto, Rei and Nagisa had all qualified in their events!

"Yeah … Congrats, guys …" I muttered sleepily. I didn't know what was wrong with me, but ever since the last even had ended, I felt listless and exhausted. I was barely able to move my feet and walk in a straight line, and my throat was kind of sore from all the shouting.

"Angel-chan, it seems like all the stress and excitement finally got to you." Makoto commented, smiling gently. "I was like that after my first race too – I felt absolutely drained."

"Yeah…" I nodded, barely listening.

"And you swam very hard today too." Gou smiled. "That must have worn you out."

"Mmmhm …" I nodded and yawned. "But it was still pointless."

"Don't say that. You finished fourth in your heat; that was impressive." Makoto said.

"True." Rei nodded. "Statistically speaking, your achievement is amazing, considering that you've been swimming only for a couple of months and have had no significant physical training beforehand!"

"I guess that muscle-building diet is working, huh?" Gou giggled.

"Yeah … " I nodded, swaying a little.

"Why don't you hop on my back? I'll carry you." Makoto offered.

"Noo, Mako-kun, I can't let you do that …" I protested weakly. "I can still waaaaalk." I yawned loudly.

"Don't be silly, come on." He stood in front of me and crouched slightly so that I could climb on his back. I hesitated, but then I decided that it would be better if I didn't have to walk. I put my hands on Makoto broad shoulders and with some help managed to settle comfortably against his back, with my feet dangling on his sides and my arms wrapped around his neck.

"Mmm … You're like a giant rock, Mako-kun…" I muttered sleepily as I rested my head on his shoulder. "What did you eat to become so big?"

"Mako-chan is very tall, isn't he?" Nagisa asked cheerfully.

"Yeah …" I smiled and closed my eyes, already beginning to doze off. "But Sousuke is bigger…"

_It would probably feel even better if he was the one carrying me._


	9. Chapter 9

Hello! Here's the new chapter! (^_^) Things are getting really interesting, huh? And we still have **no** idea what Sousuke is thinking - which makes writing this story even harder!

Still, I think that I did well -Sousuke and Angel make some progress in their relationship, finally XD - and I can't wait until I watch episode 8. I won't be updating this story until then, because I want to keep it as close to the original story as possible!

Please leave a review, I'd really love that! I hope you like the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 9**

_We …lost?_

It took my mind a while to process what had happened. I was **so** sure that we would win the relay! Everyone had been training so hard, after all!

_At least they made it past prelims … so they still have a chance to win … and I guess I'm happy for the Samezuka team too … I bet they were training hard as well._

I frowned slightly as I looked at the Samezuka team. Rin was grinning madly, which was to be expected – I knew from Makoto and from Rei that relays held a special place in his heart – however, Sousuke didn't appear happy at all. I couldn't be entirely sure about that, since I was standing too far away to see his face clearly, but his pose revealed that he wasn't pleased about the outcome. True, he wasn't one to show any emotions, even if they were positive, but still … I thought that he'd at least be happy that his team had defeated Haru's.

_Maybe he wanted to be the one who raced Haru?_

I tore my eyes off Sousuke and looked back at my own team. They were looking understandably sad. I frowned slightly – I hoped that they'd be able to recover from this soon. They had to do their best and advance to nationals, after all!

"Don't worry, guys, at least you made it, right?" I said, trying to cheer them up as we were walking back home. "And now you know where you need to improve, so you'll train even harder and go to nationals!"

"That's right!" Nagisa exclaimed – naturally, he was the first one to go back to his old self. He gave me a huge smile and wrapped one arm around Haru's shoulders and the other around Rei's, pulling them closer. "We'll definitely go to nationals this year!"

Haru just smiled lightly while Rei started boasting that he would train ever harder and study even more. I smiled – it seemed as if things were back to normal – but then looked at Makoto. I had noticed that since yesterday, he wasn't acting like himself. He was acting odd today as well – normally he'd be the first to start cheering us up and encouraging us to try harder. But now he was walking silently, a few steps away from us, looking down at the ground. I frowned as I walked to him.

"Hey …" I called him quietly.

He flinched slightly and looked at me.

"Angel-kun …"

"Are you feeling alright?" I asked him rather bluntly. I remembered coach Sasabe saying that he had messed up his dive in the relay, so I thought that maybe Makoto wasn't feeling well.

"I'm fine." He replied, smiling gently. "Sorry if I've made you worry."

I raised an eyebrow as I looked at him. I hoped that he realized that I didn't believe him. He could smile all he wanted, but I had known him for long enough to be able to tell when he had something on his mind.

* * *

I put the last plate away and turned the water off. As I was drying my hands, I thought amused how odd it was that I wanted to wash the dirty dishes by hand even though we had a dishwasher. Maybe I had contracted some of Haru's love for water? I chuckled.

_I bet that if Haru-kun ever went on a date, he'd choose to go to the ocean or to a pool!_

I was alone tonight, since both of my parents had to stay and work overnight. I didn't mind really, even though I wasn't used to being alone. My mother was unusually overprotective – I was already 16 and was perfectly capable of taking care of myself! – so I rarely had to spend the night alone at home. I wasn't really sure why my mother was so worried, I wasn't some reckless kid that was going to start a fire or something. And even if I did, I had enough brains to call the fire department.

_But it is a bit creepy being alone in the house… I keep hearing all these weird noises._

That was true – the house was never entirely quiet. I could hear the water running through the pipes, the faint sounds of something running on the roof (stray cats, probably) and even creaking coming from upstairs. I was pretty sure that I was imagining the last one though.

I went up to my room. It was kind of hot in there, so I decided to open the widow for a while to let some fresh air in.

"Huh?!"

I blinked confused. The street was dimly lit, but even so, I could clearly see that there was someone standing across the street, looking at my home. For a second or two I panicked but then I realized that this was no stranger. I couldn't see his face, but I could definitely see his sports uniform.

I rushed downstairs and out of the house, not even bothering to put any shoes on. I was afraid that if I took even a second, he'd be gone.

"Yamazaki-kun!"

He had turned around, about to leave, when he heard me calling him. He looked at me, his teal eyes were wide with shock – apparently, he had no idea that I had seen him. A faint blush crept to his cheeks and he quickly looked away, masking his embarrassment with a frown.

I ran to him and stopped beside him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. I had the feeling that something bad had happened. Sousuke was supposed to be at Samezuka Academy – all the students had curfew, so him being here so late meant that he could get in serious trouble – and on top of all he was acting odd. He was slightly hunched over and kept his gaze low. He didn't even react to my question at all. "Um … Yamazaki-kun?" I called him quietly.

Finally, he slowly lifted his head and I flinched when I saw his expression. Sousuke was looking at me as if he was seeing me for the first time. He seemed surprised about something – I could see his teal eyes widen slightly. I was about to ask if something bad had happened when he quickly grabbed me and pulled me in for a tight hug. Startled, I was barely able to contain my yelp.

"H-hey … what-" I fell silent once I realized that he was in no state to be interrogated. He seemed to be more upset than I had thought – his hands were shaking and his breathing was slightly rapid. "Um … why don't you come inside?" I asked softly.

"But … your parents …"

"They both have to work overnight, so they aren't home." I explained, smiling lightly. How lucky that I was alone tonight. I was sure that my parents would have been worried about me suddenly bringing someone home so late.

I led Sousuke to my home, holding him by the hand. It felt almost as if I was with a little scared boy. How odd, I had always seen him as this strong, mature guy … But suddenly I realized that he was only a year older than me. He was allowed to feel upset, scared or nervous too. I looked at him and smiled lightly.

"What?" He asked, immediately suspicious.

"Nothing." I replied calmly. "Say … how were you planning to go back to Samezuka? The last train left more than half an hour ago."

"I … I was going to walk …"

"Walk all the way in the middle of night?" I exclaimed. "Why don't you sleep here? There's a train at 6 a.m., so you won't miss any classes."

I could tell that Sousuke was about to protest so I quickly tried to push him into my home. He didn't move at all, naturally. In fact, I probably would be able to move my house before I managed to move him.

"Please, just come inside." I sighed. Sousuke could be as stubborn as a mule, couldn't he?

"… fine."

We both went inside and I led him to my room. Opening the door to my bedroom, I gently patted Sousuke on the back, inviting him inside. I blushed lightly as I looked around my room. The presence of someone else there had suddenly made me realize how messy it actually was: there were two empty mugs on the desk, more crumpled paper on the floor than in the bin and clothes scattered everywhere. I coughed to hide my embarrassment.

"Sorry … If I knew that you were coming I would have tidied up …" I muttered.

_And this is the first time he sees my room … He must think I'm a real slob …_

"It's fine." He looked at me and flashed me a kind smile. "I've heard that great artists are always messy."

I blushed at the compliment and looked away.

"I'm not that great …"

"You draw really well." He insisted.

"Thanks … But I'm not a great artist." I smiled.

Sousuke looked around my room with apparent curiosity. I went to sit on the bed, not taking my eyes off him. I wondered what his room was like – it was probably perfectly neat, with a lot of books and swimming trophies.

"Hey … " I spoke up quietly. "I didn't get the chance to tell you before … Congratulations on your win today. In the relay."

I was watching him carefully, so I clearly saw that he flinched at my mention of the relay. So I was right: something **had** happened! I wondered what it could be.

"Thanks." Sousuke muttered, averting his eyes. He was still standing in the middle of my room and looked kind of awkward.

"You can sit down, you know?" I chuckled.

He blinked at me and then slowly went to the bed and settled down beside me. He was still staring at me with that strange look on his face. What was he thinking about?

"I suppose you wouldn't tell me why you're acting like this, right?" I asked, sighing heavily. He nodded silently. "Fine then. But just know that if you ever feel like talking , you can always come to me, ok?" I smiled lightly at Sousuke. "I can tell that you have something on your mind and maybe I won't be able to help you, but at least I'll be here to listen."

What I got in response was unexpected. All I had intended to do was just to make it clear that I wanted to be there for Sousuke, to be able to give him my support. I was expecting a "thank you" in return, maybe even a little smile … But then he just put his hands on the sides of my face and pulled me closer, crashing his lips onto mine with a great force.

As much as I had wanted to kiss him, this was not how I had imagined it would go. Sousuke was forceful and he was actually hurting me a little, especially with the way he was biting my lower lip. I struggled, trying to push him away, but that seemed to make things worse. He pinned me down on the bed and continued kissing me in the same hungry manner, biting and sucking on my lips.

"W-wait …" I managed to gasp. "Ya-yamazaki-kun!"

Suddenly the kisses stopped. I looked at Sousuke – he was still on top of me, and his face was so close to mine that our noses were almost touching. A thin, silvery line was connecting our lips. His eyes were wide with shock – mine probably were as well – and he was shaking slightly.

"I … I don't …" He spoke quietly.

"It … it's fine, really …" I could somewhat understand his actions. He was upset, after all, and he needed to feel in control again. Or maybe I was just making up excuses for him because I liked him? Either way, it wasn't important right now.

Sousuke moved away from me. He brought a hand to his face and wiped his mouth slowly. I thought that he looked a bit paler, but I couldn't be sure.

"Look, it's really fine." I said quickly, sitting up.

"Your lip is bleeding." He said and carefully brushed his thumb over my lips. Then he showed me the little crimson droplets on his skin. "See?"

I licked my lips and indeed, I could taste the blood on them. How hard had Sousuke bitten me? I didn't feel that much pain, to be honest. But maybe that was just because I kind of enjoyed the kiss?

"I'm sorry …" Sousuke muttered.

"It's fine." I repeated. "Just … be gentler next time."

"Next time … You want there to be a next time?"

"W-well …. Yeah …" I nodded, blushing. I shyly moved closer to him and took his hand. "Besides, I promised you, remember?"

"I'll hurt you."

It was a statement – short and simple. I sighed and shook my head.

"I don't think you will. Yamazaki-kun, you're a nice guy, I can see that." I gave his hand a squeeze and kissed him on the cheek.

"I already hurt you." He reminded, frowning and looked down.

"That was an accident." I replied softly. "I know that you didn't really mean to hurt me."

He looked at me, at first surprised, then his lips twitched into a small smile. I smiled as well when I noticed that his stiff shoulders seemed to relax a bit. He was starting to cheer up, apparently.

_Maybe he wouldn't mind if I …_

I licked my lips again and moved closer to Sousuke, kissing him gently. I felt him flinching at the touch, but then he slowly wrapped his arms around me, pulling my whole body closer. I smiled lightly and tilted my head to the side, tugging on his lower lip.

_Is this his first time kissing someone?_

I found it hard to believe that Sousuke had kissed anyone before me. Even now, when he had calmed down a bit, his kissing was still insecure and a bit sloppy. I didn't mind, though. In fact, I found it really cute.

"…"

We were interrupted by a phone buzzing. For a second I thought that it was Sousuke's phone – I was sure that Rin would notice that Sousuke was missing. They shared a room after all. However, it turned out to be my phone. I took it and looked at the screen. My eyes widened and I blushed brightly when I saw that it was Haru. How strange – Haru **never** used his phone! And yet he was calling me now, when Sousuke was in my room!

_He really must be psychic!_

"Ah … hello?" I said, answering the call. I glanced at Sousuke. He looked slightly irritated, but I figured that it was probably because we had been interrupted. I tried my best not to let him guess who was calling me – I didn't want to spoil his mood again.

"Angel, I saw you talking with Makoto today."

"Ah … y-yeah, I did." I confirmed. "Why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to …" He suddenly paused and then asked a bit sharply. "Are you alone?"

"E-eh?!" For a second, I thought that my heart had stopped beating. I quickly looked at Sousuke. He was looking away, but I could tell that he was still listening carefully to my conversation. "Eh … yeah. My parents are out." I muttered. "What did you want to ask me about Makoto-kun?"

"I was wondering if he told you something."

"Something?" I frowned slightly. "No…. Something **is** bothering him, but he didn't tell me anything. Sorry."

"Ok." And without saying anything else, Haru hung up.

I put my phone down and ran my fingers through my hair, sighing. It seemed like Haru had just called me to ask about Makoto. What a relief … for a moment there I thought that he was actually aware that Sousuke was here. I wasn't sure why, but I had the feeling that I shouldn't tell my teammates about my closeness with Sousuke yet. I was nervous about how they – mainly Haru – would react.

"Something wrong?"

I looked at Sousuke and shook my head.

"I'm … not sure." I replied a bit sadly.

"Who were you talking to?"

"Er … " I couldn't lie to him. "It was Haru-kun …"

He stared at me in silence and then opened his mouth, as if to ask me something. But he seemed to change his mind, because he just frowned and looked away. I sighed and took his hand.

"I've told you before too: Haru is my friend." I said quietly.

"Yeah, I know." He replied grimly. "You all think that he is so great …"

"Why do you hate him so much?" I asked curious, but Sousuke remained silent. I sighed again. "Um … you must be tired… How about we go to sleep?"

* * *

"Are you sure you're ok with skipping practice, Angel-kun?" Gou asked me.

We were standing near a station and had stopped by a vending machine. The rest of the team were at practice right now.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I replied, smiling softly. "Besides, those guys need to practice hard and you know that if I were there, Makoto-kun and Rei-kun would try to help me rather than focus on their own swimming."

"That's true." She giggled and then looked at me, smiling softly. "I hope you aren't feeling too bad for not qualifying."

"I was feeling a bit embarrassed about it before." I shrugged. "But now I think that I did well."

"And next year you'll do even better!" She grinned.

"Next year … Do you think we can continue our club next year too?" I asked quietly. "I mean … no one else has joined …"

"Ah, that's true…" Gou's smile faded a bit. "But now we'll go to nationals, so we'll surely get new members!"

_I hope so …_

"Hey, that reminds me … Makoto-kun is graduating, so we'll need a new captain."

"Oh, right! Maybe Rei-kun?"

"He does seem most suitable, doesn't he?" I chuckled. "But I'm sure that Nagisa would be able to manipulate him."

We were chattering cheerfully, still standing by the vending machine when a train pulled up. A minute later people started coming out. I looked at them absent-mindedly and then almost choked on my drink when I noticed a familiar tall figure.

Gou had also noticed him.

"Eh … Isn't that Sousuke?"

* * *

PS - I've noticed that I haven't written much about Angel interacting with the other Samezuka members recently, so I'll try to add something in future chapters!


	10. Chapter 10

Hello! So this is the new chapter! So things are kinda starting to get serious, both in my story and in the anime. (poor Sousou ... :()

A little bit of warning - you may not like this chapter a lot, since I've left a lot of things unclear. But it will tie in with future chapters, so you'll just have to be patient.

I'll try to post a new chapter before the next episode, but I can't promise anything.

Reviews are welcome, like always!

* * *

**Chapter 10**

"Eeeh? You've started helping Goro-chan?" Nagisa exclaimed, looking at Makoto with a somewhat accusing expression. Then he looked at Haru. "Haru-chan, did you know about that?"

"I hadn't heard." Haru replied quietly, looking down.

Makoto smiled gently as he started to explain himself. I was barely listening to him while I was putting my swimsuit on. He seemed happy, much happier than he had been in some time now, so I found no need to question his decision to help out at coach Sasabe's swim club. Besides, I had other things on my mind right now.

"We should all go and help Goro-chan!" I heard Nagisa exclaim.

"But Nagisa, you all have other things to focus on, don't you?"

"Ah … right." His smiled faded and the tapped his chin. "Before we worry about others, we should worry about ourselves, huh? I need to be able to manage both swimming and studying at the same time. I promised my parents that I'd do that." He frowned slightly at that – obviously he wouldn't have enough free time to go help out at the swim club.

"And **I** need to improve my swimming." Rei added, adjusting his glasses.

"I could help out." I said suddenly. "I didn't qualify, so I could spare some of my time. Besides, I owe it to coach Sasabe – he allowed me to swim in the pool in his swim club when it was still too cold to swim in our pool. I haven't forgotten that." I smiled. "Of course, I won't do well if I try coaching, but I'm sure that there are other things I could do. I could help clean the place after practice."

Makoto looked hesitant for a second. He glanced at Nagisa and Rei, who had started bickering about something, then at Haru who stared back at him with an expressionless face. They often did that – whenever Makoto had some sort of a conundrum, he'd always look at Haru. They wouldn't exchange a single word, but somehow after that Makoto always seemed to have made up his mind. He smiled at me and nodded.

"Alright. I'll take you with me next time." He said.

"Thanks, Makoto-kun." I smiled as well.

_This is just the kind of distraction I needed. I don't want to think about anything right now …_

* * *

"Ah, Angel-kun, can you please go and check the locker room?" Coach Sasabe asked me after the group that he was coaching had left. "Last time one of the kids had forgotten his house key there."

"Oh, I already checked. No things left behind this time." I replied with a smile.

"Good." He smiled and returned to the pool.

It had been a few days since I started helping out at the swim club. It was actually kind of fun, even though most of my tasks were cleaning up after the kids.

Speaking of the kids, I was pleasantly surprised to see how many had signed up for swimming lessons. Makoto wasn't the only one who was coaching, there were at least three other coaches as well – and from what I had heard, coach Sasabe was looking to hire another one.

Now that practice was over, almost all of the kids had left. Only one boy remained in the entrance hall. Makoto was talking to him – he was one of the kids that he was coaching. He was a little fellow, shorter than most kids, with messy hair. I had watched my friend coaching a few times, when I didn't have so much work, and I had noticed that this kid always looked sad. I thought that maybe he was just shy and needed some time to get used to his group and coach. Apparently, Makoto had noticed his behaviour too, because he was talking at him with that same gentle expression he always had when he was encouraging me about my swimming.

I was honestly quite impressed with Makoto. He was not only a good coach, but he was also very nice with the kids in his group. They all loved him! Even now, as he was talking with the boy, he was kneeling down so that they could be on the same eye level. Not many people did that.

_He'd actually make a great coach. I wonder if he's thought about that._

I walked to them and gave them a warm smile.

"Hello. How was swimming today?"

"It was fine. Everyone did very well, including Hayato-kun." He gave the boy a huge smile, but that only made Hayato look even sadder. He looked down at his feet.

I felt kind of bad for the little boy. He seemed really shy and he certainly didn't want to be here. Maybe his parents had made him take swimming classes? I remembered that I had been pretty excited to take swimming lessons when I was a little kid, mainly because I got to meet a lot of new people there.

Suddenly Hayato's face lit up and he ran to the front door, greeting the tall boy that had just entered with a cheerful cry.

"Big brother!"

I looked at the newly-arrived with interest. He looked a lot like his younger sibling – except that he was much taller, of course! – but he seemed to be exactly the opposite of the quiet and shy Hayato. He appeared to be quite out-going and charismatic. I thought that he was the sort of person who could get along with anyone. He kind of reminded me of my best friend back in my home town.

"Eh?" I turned around, only to see that Makoto had straightened up and was looking at the other wide-eyed. "Kisumi?"

For a second, I thought that he had said "kiss me" and blinked in shock. I had no idea why, but I immediately wondered how Haru would have reacted if he had heard him say that to this guy.

"Shigino Kisumi?"

The guy, Kisumi apparently, looked at Makoto with a raised eyebrow. He suddenly grinned, his face lighting up.

"Makoto? Is that you?" He ran to him. "Oh man, I haven't seen you since middle school!"

_Ohhh … So they know each other!_

"Yeah." Makoto agreed. Kisumi looked at me, smiling brightly and I blushed a bit. He seemed almost too dazzling to be real. "Oh, this is Angel. He is in my school's swim club." Makoto introduced me.

"Nice to meet you!"

"Same here." I replied. "Ah, sorry, but I need to go and clean the locker room."

"Alright. See you later." Makoto waved at me.

The locker room was messy – like it always was at the end of the day. I didn't mind doing some physical work right now, though. It helped me forget my own worries.

_I wonder if I should talk to someone about it? Makoto would surely understand … But then again, this may turn out to be nothing. I shouldn't make my friends worry until I'm certain that there __**is**__ actually something to worry about._

It took me about half an hour to clean the room. When I was done, I looked up and saw that Makoto was standing in the doorway. He was waiting for me to finish so that we could walk home together, like we had done before.

"Do you need any help?" He asked.

"Nah, I'm finished here." I smiled. "I'll just go change my clothes and we can go."

As we were walking down the street, I turned to look at Makoto. He was quiet and was walking with his head hung low. Usually he was chattering about the kids in his group, telling me how much they were improving with a huge smile on his face.

"Hey, Makoto-kun … Did something happen?" I asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" He looked at me slightly surprised.

"Well … you look like there's something on your mind." I pointed out.

"I was just thinking about Hayato-kun. He said that he hated swimming."

"Oh …" I blinked. "Well … If he doesn't like swimming he shouldn't be forced to swim, right? It's simple." I couldn't really understand why Makoto was thinking so much about this.

Did he think that Hayato didn't like swimming because of the way he coached? It certainly seemed like something that Makoto would do. I remembered how guilty he felt when I got sunburnt the week before the tournament, even though it had been my decision to practice all day.

"Maybe you should talk to Hayato's older brother? You seem to know him very well." I suggested.

"Ah, yes, I do. Kisumi, Haru and I went to the same middle school." He nodded. "I will talk to him about it. Maybe he will know why Hayato-kun hates swimming."

"Alright." I smiled. "By the way, you're doing a really good job, Makoto-kun. You are really good with kids too!"

"Eh? You think so?" He blushed. "W-well … I guess I have some experience from babysitting Ran and Ren …"

"It's not just that, though." I said. "You seem to have a knack for it. And I can tell that you like it – you've been happier than ever since you started coaching these kids!"

"Ehhh?! I have?"

"Yeah!" I nodded. "You know, you were pretty glum since the tournament. You were so quiet … Even Haru was worried about you! He called me to ask if I knew what was wrong with you."

"What? He did?" He asked, gaping at me.

"Yeah! And he called at the most awkward time, right when Sousuke and I were- Ow …" I clasped a hand over my mouth and blushed brightly, embarrassed by the rather stupid slip-up that I had made.

Makoto looked at me wide-eyed. He surely must have clearly heard me saying Sousuke's name. Truth be told, I didn't have a problem with him knowing … but what if he said something to Haru? They told each other **everything**. I was afraid of how he would react. I knew that he wasn't fond of Sousuke and I didn't want Haru to be mad at me for being so close with him. I just wanted to get along with everyone.

_Why did my crush have to be the only person whom one of my closest friends hates?_

"So you and Yamazaki-kun are pretty close, huh?" Makoto asked, smiling gently. He obviously didn't find anything suspicious, or more like he didn't show that he had.

"I g-guess you could say that …" I muttered, blushing brightly as I recalled that we had basically spent a whole night making out. "He's a nice guy, really." I added defensively.

"I'm sure he is." Makoto smiled. "I don't think we've ever talked, to be honest. But he's a good swimmer."

"Yes, he is!" I nodded, smiling widely. "He's one of the fastest swimmers I've ever seen and his form is so professional! I'm pretty sure that he could swim in the Olympics after he graduates!"

Makoto chuckled and I realized a little too late that I had let my enthusiasm get the better of me. I blushed even more and muttered something that even I couldn't understand, looking down at my feet in embarrassment.

"So you like him that much, huh?" He asked, smiling happily.

"Y-yeah …" I nodded. "Um … could you please not tell the others? I'm still kinda figuring things out with Sousuke …"

I hadn't lied. We had kissed, true, but we hadn't actually discussed our relationship – I wasn't even sure what kind of a relationship we had. After he had spent the night at my place, Sousuke had left before I woke up, leaving me a note in which he thanked me and then explained that he had to go back to Samezuka and that he didn't want to wake me up. I hadn't heard from him since then and I had to admit that I missed him more than I thought I would.

_I want to see him so badly right now. Just a little glimpse would be enough. Like when I saw him at the station that time … I really need him to cheer me up._

"I understand." Makoto smiled. "I promise I'll keep quiet about this."

"Thanks." I sighed in relief. I knew that I could trust Makoto to keep my secret.

* * *

When I arrived home and stepped inside my house, I immediately heard my parents whispering in the kitchen. I sighed. It had been like this for the past few days. I would often find my parents whispering to each other. They were hiding something from me, that was for sure! I didn't know what they were discussing so much, but I had noticed that my mother was moodier than usual, which was weird because she was normally a very cheerful person. However, every time I asked them if something was wrong, both my parents would give me a fake smile and insist that everything was alright. I had a faint suspicion what they kept talking about though and it made me feel a sharp pain in the pit of my stomach.

Suddenly the kitchen door opened and my mother walked out. She halted when she saw me, exclaiming surprised.

"Oh, sweetie, you're home already?" She asked.

"I always come home around this time." I replied. I was too tired to question her again, so I just sighed and headed to my room.

"Dinner will be ready soon." She called out after me.

I waved my hand to let her know that I had heard her and went into my room. I plopped on my bed, hugging my pillow, and stared at the poster above my bed. It was actually just a large picture of a waterfall that Haru had given me. He had told me that if I watch it for long enough, I'd get to know the water better – whatever that meant.

_To be honest, I think if Haru wasn't such a good swimmer he probably would have been sent to a psychiatrist by now because of his obsession with water…_

I sighed and rolled over. I had the terrible, nagging feeling that something bad was going to happen. My stomach was aching – I always got a stomach ache during the worst times of my life. I got one before my pet rabbit died; I got one before dad got into a car crash (he wasn't hurt seriously, thankfully) and I've been having one for the past week. And I was pretty sure that whatever was going to happen had something to do with my parents and their unusual behaviour.

_Why can't they just tell me what's going on? Do they think I'm not grown-up enough to tell me important things? Besides, if I'm right about what they keep talking about, they should tell me! If they want us to go back to Wales, I deserve to know that and be a part of the discussion._

* * *

PS - I'm so sorry that there's no Sousuke here. I tried to write in a scene where Angel calls him and they talk, but it seemed too awkward so I decided to leave him out of this chapter.

So now Makoto knows ... What will happen next? (Seriously, I've ran out of plot ideas XD I have no idea how this story is going to end.)


	11. Chapter 11

Hello! So this is chapter 11. Just so there isn't confusion, this chapter takes place at the end of episode 8.

I decided not to let Angel hear about Sousuke's shoulder from Kisumi, because I kinda want Sousuke to tell him that. Also, I'm planning on starting another fic which will be drabbles about Angel and Sousuke. I hope I do well, I've never been good with drabbles! :D

Episode 9 comes out tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to post a new chapter pretty soon. ^_^

Anyway, I hope you like the new chapter! Please, leave a review! :)

* * *

**Chapter 11**

"Oh!"

_Crap …_

I bent down, picking up the soda can that I had just accidentally dropped. Luckily, it wasn't opened, but now I feared that would happen if I did open it… I didn't want to get all soaked and sticky.

We were once again at Iwatobi Swim Club Returns. Makoto's group hadn't arrived yet, so we were taking a little break by the vending machines. I had started coming here more often that Makoto – I had grown to hate being at home, so I always stayed as late as coach Sasabe and almost didn't see my parents. We were mainly communicating through text messages and notes left on the fridge. Even when I was home, I mostly stayed in my room with my earphones on – by now I couldn't stand hearing them whisper like that.

"Angel-kun, are you feeling alright?" Makoto asked me, looking at me worried.

"Hm?" I looked into Makoto's worried eyes. "What makes you think that I'm not?"

I **still** had no idea what was troubling my parents! I was almost certain that my mother wanted us to go back to Wales, but so far they hadn't told me anything. They were still keeping maddeningly quiet about, which annoyed me to no end. After all, if they were really discussing going back, I deserved to give my two cents about it too, right?

What annoyed me even more was that my parents didn't seem to realize that keeping quiet about it was taking its toll on me. My friends could see how troubled I was ... so why were my own parents so blind?

"… You've been spacing out a lot recently and you keep dropping your stuff. You're not so clumsy normally. I'm worried about you."

"A-ah … thanks, Makoto, really …" I replied quickly. "But you shouldn't worry about me. I'll be fine. Besides, you need to focus on advancing to nationals, right?"

"I think that my friends are far more important." Makoto insisted, frowning slightly at me. "You've seemed to have lost weight recently too. That's not a good sign."

"Really?" I blinked and looked down at myself. I couldn't tell for sure if I had actually lost weight or not, but I took Makoto's word for it. "Well … I actually haven't had any appetite lately, so I don't eat as much as I need to."

"That's not good." He now looked even more worried. "So there **is** something troubling you?"

"Um …" I hesitated, but ultimately decided to tell him what was going on. Maybe he could help me? Out of all my friends, I thought that Makoto was the best person to talk to about my problems. Haru would probably say something vague about water, Nagisa would try to help me but eventually would get so distracted that he would switch to another topic, and Rei would give me some theoretical solution which would have no practical use at all. "Actually …. There is something that's been on my mind for a while …" I muttered. "I'm not really 100% sure about it, but I think that my parents are planning to go back to Wales."

"What? Did they tell you that?" He asked, staring at me wide-eyed.

"No …" I shook my head. "But I sometimes hear some of the things they talk about. Just last week my mother was complaining that my dad was working too much. Her exact words were: "You didn't use to work until so late before." So … I think that she fears that she and my dad are starting to grow distant because of my dad's work." I sighed.

"Oh, I see." He muttered. "So, does this mean that you will go back with your parents?"

"… I think so. I mean, they wouldn't let me stay here on my own, would they?" I replied, sighing heavily. "I really don't want to leave, I love it here and I love being in the swim club!"

_And if I leave, I won't get to see you guys ever again … and Sousuke too …_

"We'd all be really sad if you left." He frowned. "Have you told your parents that you want to stay here?"

"I haven't told them anything!" I replied, maybe a bit too loudly. "They don't even want to talk to me about it and it's seriously pissing me off! I should be able to discuss this with them, because I'm a part of the family too, right?" I pouted.

Makoto had looked a bit taken aback by my outburst, but he quickly recovered.

"I think that it's best if you stay calm. Just tell your parents how you feel." He said. "Remember when Nagisa had a problem with his parents? It was solved by him talking to them."

"Yeah…" I nodded. "But Nagisa's problem was way different than mine…" I sighed. "But talking to them is the only plan I've got so far … maybe it will work?"

"Maybe." Makoto smiled. Then he turned his head away with a distant look in his eyes. I looked at him with curiosity. He couldn't be **that** troubled over my problem, right? So maybe he had something on his mind as well?

"Hm … it seems to me like you've got a problem too." I commented.

He looked back at me and then smiled gently as he shook his head.

"No, I don't." He replied. "I just … coach Sasabe told me today that he had found a new part-timer, so next week will be my last here. I just can't believe how quickly it was over." He may have realized how sad he sounded, so he quickly gave me a soft smile. "But that alright! Now I can focus on my swimming, right?"

"Yeah …" I agreed quietly, thinking to myself that Makoto didn't seem to care so much about his own swimming right at that moment.

* * *

"Ugh …" I groaned as I rolled on my stomach, burying my nose in my pillow.

I was so nervous that I wished I could just disappear! But I couldn't – I was here and I couldn't run away from my own problems anymore. I had decided that today was the day I'd talk to my parents. This was why I hadn't gone with Makoto to the swim club. I actually felt kind of guilty for not being there for him today – it was Makoto's last day as a coach and he looked pretty sad that he wouldn't be going there again. He really must have loved coaching those kids, I gathered.

I stood up from the bed and went to the mirror. I had gone over what I'd say to my parents a million times in my mind and yet, I felt like my arguments weren't compelling enough. I tossed my bangs away from my eyes and stared at my reflection, trying to encourage myself to leave the comfort of my bedroom. My parents were in the living room right now, but somehow I just couldn't go there and spill my heart to them. The thing was that I wasn't really afraid of confronting them about their irritating behaviour. I was actually afraid that they would confirm my suspicions. I was afraid that they'd tell me that we had to leave Japan for good.

"?"

Just as I was ready to head to the door, my phone buzzed, announcing that I had received a text message. I blinked, a bit shocked at the odd timing, and then went to see who it had texted me. To my huge surprise, it turned out to be Sousuke.

_[Can you come to Samezuka today? I need to talk to you.]_

I bit my lower lip. If I had received such a message from him on any other day, I would have been darting to the train station while typing my reply, but today … I couldn't do it today. I needed to talk to my parents and sort this out before it became an even bigger problem. With a tight feeling in my stomach, I sent him a text.

_[I'm sorry, I can't do it today. :( Maybe some other time?]_

I anxiously awaited his reply. It took Sousuke a painfully long time to reply – each second that passed without my cell phone buzzing was like a little needle in my heart. Had I offended him so badly? Maybe Sousuke wanted to tell me something urgent? What if … what if he had finally decided to tell me what was bothering him and I had just blown away all chances of him opening up to me?

"Ugh!" I exclaimed and sat on the floor, curling up in a ball.

Why did everything have to have such bad timing! Why did my parents have to act like little children? If they had just been honest with me from the beginning, now I could be on the train to Samezuka Academy. Instead, I was lying on my floor in emotional turmoil.

_Note to self – I will never hide anything from my own children. Ever!_

Finally I heard that I had received a text message and immediately jumped up. I grabbed my phone, then dropped it accidentally – my hand were shaking so much – took it from the floor and quickly opened the new text I had received.

To my shock, Sousuke didn't seem to be mad or upset. In fact, he was even apologizing for bothering me while I was busy. As I stared at my phone, reading the message over and over, trying to find some hidden meaning that showed that Sousuke was actually angry with me, I suddenly realized that I had never seen him act even slightly selfish. He never demanded anything, he always looked after other people – well, mostly Rin and me, actually – and he **never** complained.

_He's such a nice and selfless guy … Oh my god, this is probably one of the few things he's ever asked anyone to do for him! And I said no …_

I stood up, clenching my phone tightly. No … I **was** going to see him today! I would go and talk to my parents. If I was honest with them, our conversation wouldn't be long and I'd still have time to go and talk to Sousuke. I nodded. Yes, this was going to happen!

I quickly went downstairs and saw that my mother was just coming out of the kitchen. She gave me a soft smile – when she and my dad weren't whispering to each other, they treated me nicer than ever which of course made me even more suspicious. I took a deep breath and went to her.

"Mum, I think that we should talk." I knew that my new-found courage wouldn't last long, so I decided to say what I wanted to right there. "Okay, here we go … I am sixteen years old! I am a part of this family and I am old enough to be able to make rational decisions. I have noticed that you and dad are discussing something and I think that it's bad parenting on your part that you've hidden it from me for so long. You may have thought that I hadn't noticed anything, but in fact, I did notice and the thought that my own parents don't trust me has been bothering me for some time now. So please, just tell me what's going on!"

My mother was silent after my speech, looking a bit shocked. Then she smiled again and nodded.

"You're right, sweetie. We shouldn't have hidden anything from you." She stroked my cheek affectionately. "Come, let's go in the living room. Your father and I will tell you everything, I promise."


	12. Chapter 12

Here's chapter 12! Omg, Free! ES episode 9 broke my heart! And the end scene with Sousuke ... I almost cried (and I **never** cry while watching anything!) ... Anyway, here's the chapter and I hope that you like it! I can't wait for the new episode to come out!

Also, I don't think that I need to say it really, but this whole chapter is a huge spoiler, so if you decide to read to read it before having watched episode 9, you've been warned. :)

As always, reviews are welcome!

* * *

**Chapter 12**

The day of the regionals had finally come. Even though I hadn't qualified, I was still allowed to go with the others and give them my support. It was kind of exciting, but **extremely** stressful – even though I wasn't competing, I could still feel the pressure of having my team perform well. I could only imagine how Makoto, Nagisa, Rei and Haru were feeling.

We arrived at the hotel in the late afternoon and gaped at the huge building. It was at least 40 floors high! I felt like a little bug as I looked all the way to the top.

_Wow … _

We went inside, looking around the luxurious and spacious lobby of the hotel. As we were walking, Ama-chan started saying something about how nothing ever came free. I didn't listen to her that much - I had actually started to tune her out whenever she quoted some famous person. It was better that way.

"Gou-san!"

We turned around and saw that the Samezuka swimming team had arrived. Apparently, they were staying in the same hotel as us. How lucky!

Rin approached us and greeted us with a friendly smirk, showing off his pointy teeth. Meanwhile I looked at Sousuke and smiled at him. He smiled back, and I blushed lightly. I hadn't seen him in quite a while and I really missed him. I was glad that we got to share the same hotel – maybe we could meet some evening and catch up?

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go and see him the other day – the talk with my parents took way too long, since we had a lot of things to discuss, and afterwards I was left feeling too emotionally exhausted to be able to leave my home – but we had spent the last week or so talking on the phone almost every day. Sousuke kept calling me and we always ended up at least an hour on the phone, but the weird thing was that we mostly talked about trivial, pointless things: what we had for lunch, some funny or curious thing that might have happened at school … we also often ended up talking about me, for some reason. Sousuke loved asking me about my interests.

However, I had the feeling that all these little talks were just a build-up for something more. I was almost certain that Sousuke wanted to tell me some important news, because he often hesitated before hanging up, as if he wanted add more but he didn't have the courage to do so. That was really weird, because he seemed like a blunt guy who always said what was on his mind.

"Oh, Sousuke-kun, Angel-kun and I saw you at the train station the other day!" Gou told Sousuke cheerfully.

He looked at her and then back at me, widening his eyes slightly in panic. How odd … I had forgotten about that until Gou mentioned it. Back then I hadn't thought that it was such a big deal, but apparently, it was to Sousuke.

"What were you doing there?" Rin asked his friend.

"Nothing really…" He replied, looking away and frowning slightly. At the sight of his troubled eyes, I felt a tight pain in my stomach.

_Oh no …_

Shortly after that Rin, Sousuke and the rest of their team left for their rooms. Makoto looked at us and smiled.

"I think we should all go to our rooms too. We need some rest. Let's meet here in an hour, then we'll go and get something to eat." He suggested.

We all nodded and headed to the elevator. Nagisa, Rei and I were going to share a room while Makoto and Haru were going to sleep in another. Our rooms were right next to each other.

When we entered our room, Nagisa exclaimed happily. Dropping his bag to the floor, he went to the bed in the middle and plopped on it.

"Whoa, it's so soft!" He giggled.

Rei sighed and adjusted his glasses, having grown tired of our friend's antics. I couldn't help but laugh at Nagisa's childish behaviour. I sat down on one of the other beds and looked around the room.

"You know, this reminds me of when I was younger." I said. "Usually my aunt and uncle took me on vacation, since they have two daughters about my age. My parents thought that it would be best if I went with other kids, since I would have someone to play with. So my aunt and uncle would sleep in one room – like Makoto and Haru – and me and my cousins would sleep in another room." I chuckled. "It was actually kind of fun, because we could stay up late as much as we wanted to."

"I bet it was fun!" Nagisa grinned.

"Yeah, it was." I nodded. "Well, except for that time when we were drawing and one of my cousins drew a unicorn which really looked like a huge balloon with a stick in it, so I drew a better-looking one and they were so jealous that they painted my fingernails and my toenails pink while I was sleeping." I sighed, blushing lightly. "I remembered feeling very embarrassed about that the next morning."

"Oh, yeah, I know what you mean." Nagisa said, pouting slightly. "My older sisters did this to me all the time!"

"That's tough." I frowned in sympathy.

And hour later we met up with Makoto, Haru and Gou in the lobby and headed out to get something to eat – apparently Ama-chan preferred to dine in the hotel's restaurant. While we were walking around the city, taking in our new surroundings, Makoto and I started chatting about his younger siblings. I had met Ran and Ren once, when I had visited Makoto at his home. I had found the twins adorable, but a bit loud and tiring. They seemed to love their older brother a lot.

"Ah! Gou-kun!"

I looked at the tall boy that had greeted us. He looked a couple of years older than us and he had bright red hair, combed backwards. He looked familiar and I wondered if I had seen him somewhere before.

"Oh, captain Mikoshiba!"

Oh, right! He was Samezuka's swim team's old captain and Momotarou's older brother! I remembered seeing him at the prefecturals, but we had never talked. I remembered Gou telling me about him – apparently he was a very good swimmer.

However, no one seemed to know who the middle-aged man with him was. Luckily, captain Mikoshiba introduced him. It turned out that he was a scouting agent for the university that the red-headed guy attended. What's more, he had heard of Haru and seemed very eager to see him swim tomorrow.

I frowned as I looked at my friend. Haru's face was expressionless, but I noticed that he was clenching his fists tightly.

_This won't end well…_

* * *

"Look, it's Haru's heat already!" Nagisa exclaimed, pointing. "Gooooo, Haru-chan!" He yelled and waved his fist in the air.

I bit my lower lip and glanced at Makoto. He looked back and me and nodded lightly. I knew that he shared my concerns – we had both never seen Haru so emotionless when it came to swimming.

_Does he even want to swim today at all?_

I shook my head, frowning. Of course that he wanted to! Why else would he have agreed to swim? Maybe the stress was getting to him? It was his last year of high school and this race was one of his last chances to impress the scouts. That was probably what it was – Haru just wanted to get a good offer and get in a university with a strong swimming team.

_Except … I've never heard him say anything like that …_

Curious, I leaned over the edge slightly, looking at Haru. He was the last swimmer standing – everyone else was already bending down, ready to dive in at the signal. This had never happened before. I bit my lower lip and unconsciously grabbed Makoto's hand, squeezing it tightly. I was so worried about Haru that I didn't even hear Makoto's startled gasp.

_Something's wrong …_

When the race started, I allowed myself to sigh in relief. Haru seemed to be swimming like normal – his start was on time and he quickly pulled ahead of the rest. I pressed both hands on my chest, closing my eyes briefly. Maybe I had been too concerned and had taken Haru's stress for something worse?

"Eh?"

Makoto's surprised exclamation made me open my eyes.

"What's going on?" I asked quickly.

"Haru-chan's falling behind!?" Nagisa gasped.

"No … he's slowing down on purpose."

I gasped and leaned forward, grabbing the bars of the railing in front of me so tightly that my knuckles had turned white. Haru was indeed slowing down, as if he was planning on stopping right in the middle of the race. What was he thinking?

"Oh no, oh no, oh no …." I kept muttering. I could feel my eyes filling with tears. I could vaguely imagine what would happen next.

Time seemed to be going painfully slow for us. It took what felt like an eternity for Haru to slow down enough so that his feet would touch the pool floor. He took off his goggles and swimming cap, not raising his head to look at us at all.

"Haru-chan …" Nagisa muttered quietly.

"W-what happens now?" I asked. "Does this mean that he … Did he just lost?"

Makoto nodded. I looked back at Haru. He was walking to the edge of the pool – not swimming, **walking**. I knew from experience how hard it was to walk in a pool. I thought that to him it must be torture right now. He climbed up and slowly headed to the changing rooms.

"Let's go to him." Nagisa said, standing up. "Haru-chan needs us."

"But I don't get." Rei spoke as we were hurrying along the corridor. "Why would Haruka-senpai stop like that? Was he not feeling well?"

"I think … I think that it was too much for him." I said quietly.

"What was?"

"You heard the principal last week and the scouting agent that captain Mikoshiba introduced us to." I replied. "Everyone expects so much of Haru – he has to get scouted, he has to advance to nationals, he has to set a record …" I sighed. "He needed to please so much people … I guess he felt trapped."

"What you're saying does make sense." Rei said thoughtfully and adjusted his glasses. "Haruka-senpai always says that he doesn't care about winning or setting records …"

"Yeah, he says that he wants to be free." Nagisa added, looking worried. "But what happens now? Will he get scouted at all?"

"I don't know. But look, guys, I think that once we find Haru-kun, we shouldn't judge him or scold him for what he just did. I think he wanted to throw the race and we should respect his decisions, right?" I asked. "Let's just show him our support, ok?"

_I just pray that he still wants to swim in the relay._

The others nodded. We soon arrived at the changing room. The scene that greeted us one we looked inside was definitely not a pleasant one: Haru and Rin were standing face to face, with Haru's back slammed against the lockers. They both looked furious – this was the first time that I had seen Haru show anger. It was scary.

And then he started yelling. I stood there wide-eyed, listening to Haru's words. W-what was he saying? Was he going to give up swimming? Was going pro **not** his dream? I didn't know what was going on right now and judging by Nagisa's and Rei's expressions, I wasn't the only one. Even Makoto seemed puzzled and he was the one who knew Haru the best!

Finally Haru tore himself away from Rin and walked towards the door. That was when he saw us. He looked surprised and even a little ashamed – I guessed he hadn't realized that we had been here the whole time.

"Don't worry." He told us with a much calmer voice. "I will still swim in the relay with you."

None of us could say anything. Was Haru going to pretend like nothing had happened at all? What was more, were we going to accept that?

Suddenly I felt very uncomfortable. I was among my friends, yet all I wanted to do was desperately get out of here as soon as possible. Maybe seeing Haru lash out like that had shaken me – I always thought that he'd be the one to keep his cool when something bad happened. Seeing him like that was disturbing.

"A-ah … I'll go and tell Gou-chan what happened, ok? She must be worried too." I suggested. Since nobody replied, I just shrugged and started walking away.

I wasn't in that much of a hurry to tell Gou. Besides, what was there to tell her? "Oh, yeah, Haru kinda yelled at your brother but now he seems to be alright but we all feel like something is wrong and we can't do anything about it." I sighed.

It was surprising how at this swimming tournament swimming had turned out to be the last thing on my mind.

"Hm?" I looked up, blinking in surprise. I was leaning on a wall near the showers and I could hear the water running. One of the swimmers was taking a shower, probably. After all, there were teams that came here to win and none of our drama concerned them, I thought bitterly.

How I wished I could be a part of one of **those** teams! Or better yet, how I wished that there was no drama in my own team!

I was about to walk away when I heard a faint sob and froze in one place. Was I wrong or had that sounded strangely familiar? I wasn't really sure, but somehow I couldn't move away.

_No … I don't think I can handle anything more today … _

And yet I couldn't leave. Something told me that I should go inside. I had the feeling that if I left, I'd regret it. Sighing, I opened the door quietly and went in. The place was huge, humid and filled with steam. It was very hot in here, so I was grateful that I had left my jacket with Gou. Through the sound of falling water I could clearly hear someone sobbing. I suddenly felt kind of anxious – what if I was wrong and the guy in there was just some random swimmer? Then I'd come off as this really creepy guy who liked to sneak into shower rooms. Just the thought made me shudder and I was ready to turn around and leave the room … but then I saw it.

**The jacket.**

I knew that jacket. A while ago – it seemed like an eternity ago – it had been wrapped around my shoulders to keep me warm. Now it was lying on the floor, as if its owner had been in too big of a hurry to care where they placed their jacket.

I went further into the room, where the showers actually were. I soon noticed the lone figure, shaking under a rapid stream of water.

"Sousuke!"

I ran to him. He was sitting on the ground, clutching his right shoulder and obviously in great pain. Having heard my exclamation, he looked up and his eyes widened in shock.

"Y-you …"

By then I was kneeling in front of him, not really caring that I'd get soaked to the bone. I placed a hand on his cheek and then looked at his shoulder. I could see a bright red spot on it and I bit my lower lip. I hesitantly reached out, but he quickly slapped my hand away.

"Don't!" He barked, his face twisted in pain.

I looked back at him. I could tell that he was crying – whether it was from the pain or from the embarrassment of having his secret found out, I wasn't sure. But what really hurt me was that while we had all gathered around Haru, Sousuke had been here, alone. That thought broke my heart and I started crying as well.

"You should have told me …" I whispered, choking on my tears.

"I know …" He tried to smile faintly but his pain was too much and all he could manage was a tortured grimace. "I'm sorry … I fucked up …"

"Sousuke …" I stroked his cheek with my thumb. "How are you going to swim like that?"

"I don't …" He choked and closed his eyes. "I don't know …" He whispered so quietly that I had to read the words off his lips. He slowly leaned forward, until he was resting his head on my shoulder, and wept.

* * *

PS - I had initially planned another ending for this chapter but then I decided that no, I wouldn't allow Sousuke to be alone when he needed someone the most!

Also, I'm thinking of writing a short chapter (probably in a 1000 words or less) about what happens while they are both under the shower - Sousuke needs some major comforting right now. Would anyone be interested in reading it? It would probably be kind of OOC though...


	13. Chapter 13

Ack! Sorry I took so long with this chapter, guys! I was supposed to upload it on Friday but then I thought that what I had written was too weird and out of place, so I had to re-write the whole thing! It turned put shorter than my other chapters, but far longer than expected (it was initially supposed to be around 1000 words). I think that it's better now, though. :) So, as promised, here's what happens while Sousuke and Angel are under the shower!

I tried to keep Sousuke in character as best as I could, so hopefully he's not too OOC.

Can't wait for episode 10, even though I'm pretty sure it would break my heart! :D Do you think that Sousuke would tell Rin about his injury or would he just swim in the relay and then mess it up?

Anyway, I hope you like the chapter! I'd be very glad if you left me some reviews! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter 13**

For a while nothing else could be heard except Sousuke's quiet sobbing and the sound of falling water. With the way we were sitting right now – me kneeling between Sousuke's legs and him with his head on my shoulder and his left arm wrapped around me – I could clearly see the red spot on his aching shoulder. I bit my lower lip. I hated it that Sousuke needed me right now – it was the first time that he was like that - and yet I couldn't think of anything to do to make him feel better. Licking my lips slowly, I gently placed a hand on his shoulder, being extremely careful not to cause him any more pain. I felt him flinch and quickly moved my hand away from him.

"S-sorry! I didn't-"

"No …" He interrupted me, speaking softly. He raised his head to look at me, then took my hand and put it back on his shoulder. "It feels nice. Makes it hurt less." He was starting to calm down, to my relief. "You … you're all wet now …"

"It's fine." I said indifferently. "It's not my biggest concern right now."

He nodded slowly and then turned his head away.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "I wanted to tell you for so long … but I couldn't. I was scared."

"Why were you scared?" I asked, confused. Was he maybe too proud to admit that he was in pain? "Wait … you wanted to tell me for **so long**? Just how long has your shoulder been giving you troubles?" I had assumed that this was some injury that he had received recently … the thought that Sousuke had been suffering for a while hadn't even crossed my mind until now.

_Wait … Does this mean that his shoulder may never heal?_

He didn't reply to me. He closed his eyes and started shaking again.

"Sorry! I'm really sorry! P-please, calm down!" I quickly said. "We'll talk about it some other time, when you're not so upset." I wanted to know, of course, but how could I question him when he was like that? I wouldn't do anything so heartless! Sousuke needed me to comfort him and that was what I was going to do. Everything else could wait.

He nodded and then looked at me. He shoved my hand off his shoulder and then lifted me slightly – he was using only his left hand but he was strong enough to be able to move me – and pulled me closer to him, placing me onto his lap. I blushed brightly, but before I could say anything, he kissed me on the lips. I smiled lightly and kissed him back, tilting my head a bit. If Sousuke thought that he needed this kind of comfort, then I was more than willing to give it to him.

We made out for a while until Sousuke gently broke the kiss. He rested his head on the tiled wall behind him and gave me a light smile. I smiled too – he was already beginning to look like the old Sousuke. That was a good thing, right?

"You're soaked to the bone." He looked at me and then tugged my wet T-shirt, frowning.

"That's because I'm standing under a running shower." I pointed out, chuckling lightly. "Don't worry … it's a warm day, so I'll dry off soon."

He smiled and ran his fingers along my cheek. I shuddered a bit. His touch was so gentle! I could scarcely believe that someone who looked so big and a bit intimidating at first glance – or at second, to be quite honest – could have such a delicate touch.

"You're something special." He murmured, the look in his eyes suddenly becoming distant.

"Huh?" I blushed and looked away. "T-thanks … I guess … I hope you mean the good kind of special!" I said in a desperate attempt to make him smile again.

He did so, the corners of his lips tugging slightly upwards, and then nodded.

"Of course that I do. You are so kind-hearted and strong. I'm … happy that I met you."

I blinked but I couldn't help how happy his words made me. Then I immediately felt so guilty – Sousuke was in so much suffering and yet he still did everything he could to make **me** smile.

_How I wished there were something I can do for him … Or at least something I could say. I feel so helpless right now … if I can't make him smile, then he deserves someone better!_

I leaned down and pressed my lips against his shoulder lightly. I heard Sousuke inhaling sharply and for a moment thought that I had caused him pain, but then he groaned in pleasure quietly. Encouraged, I kissed him again and again, making sure that I wasn't pressing too hard on his shoulder.

"Mmm … that feels nice…" He muttered.

I smiled. This was exactly what I was hoping to achieve! I wanted him to forget about his pain, about his shoulder, about everything. And I wanted to be the one who made him forget all the bad things. I continued kissing his shoulder, feeling it pulsating lightly beneath my lips.

_I wish this moment never ended. I know that it's selfish, but I wish we could stay like this forever, just holding each other … this right now is a perfect moment._

* * *

I had no idea how much time had passed. All I knew was that Sousuke and I had been in each other's arms for at least twenty minutes, completely silent – all I could hear was the sound of falling water and his soft breathing. Finally, Sousuke stirred and straightened up. He winced slightly – the movement had caused some pain in his shoulder.

"I think we should go …" He muttered, even though it was obvious that he didn't want to move at all. "Your friends will wonder where you are."

"Oh, right …" I muttered. I had completely forgotten about Haru and the other. I wondered if they had managed to sort things out. "Matsuoka-kun is probably looking for you too, huh?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if he is." He replied, nodding his head. "Um … please don't tell anyone."

_You mean don't tell Matsuoka-kun, don't you?_

I didn't need to ask what he was talking about. I sighed, frowning slightly.

"I won't. It's your secret and I have no right to tell anyone about it. But Sousuke-kun …" I looked at him sadly. "You should tell Matsuoka-kun. He deserves to know. He's the captain of the swim team **and** your friend."

"I don't …" His voice trailed off and he looked away, swallowing hard.

"I know that it won't be easy, but if you think that you're doing him a favor by keeping quiet about it, you're wrong." I said softly. "My parents pulled the same trick recently. The worst part was that I knew they were hiding something from me and it hurt me knowing that they didn't trust me enough to tell me. What if your friend feels the same way?"

"He probably knows already …" Sousuke muttered.

"Then that's yet another reason to talk to him." I said sternly. "Please … promise me that you'll do that?"

"… fine …"

I sighed and smiled at him. I knew how hard it must be for him. He had been swimming for so long, he had dreams of helping his team win, of going pro with swimming … and now his shoulder was injured and he couldn't achieve is dreams … It was an athlete's worst nightmare.

"Sousuke … I know that things seem pretty bad now, but just know that I am here for you. Ok?" I said softly. I stood up and turned the shower off, then offered my hand to Sousuke to help him stand up.

"Yeah." He nodded. He didn't take my hand – I guessed he was pretty embarrassed and didn't want to seem even weaker in front of me – and managed to get up on his own, supporting himself on the wall. "Thank you."

I smiled. It felt nice to hear him say that – Sousuke had always been so independent, it felt nice that he was relying on me right now.

"You should go back to your friends." He said quietly. Grabbing his jacket, he wrapped it around me carefully. I tried to protest, but he hushed me with a quick kiss. "I don't want you to catch a cold."

I thought bitterly that he was more likely to catch a cold than me, but I didn't say anything.

* * *

PS - I wanted to make it a bit smutty, but writing smut from the first person narrative looks so weird! So I guess I won't be writing any smut here ...


	14. Chapter 14

Here's the new chapter! It contains a lot of spoilers about Free! ES Episode 10, so don't read if you haven't watched it yet!

Anyway, this chapter is long and a lot of things happen, so I hope that you guys like it! :) Angel and Sousuke really move forward in their relationship and Angel reveals something huge! :D

Reviews would be appreciated!

* * *

**Chapter 14**

I was walking towards the changing rooms – I knew that Sousuke had gone there after we left the shower room and I wanted to give him his jacket back. People were starting to give me odd looks, since I was wearing a jacket almost three times my size. I also wanted to check up on him and see how he was doing.

"Um … hello?" I called out a bit timidly as I walked into the room.

There was only one person in there – Sousuke. He was sitting on a bench, applying some sort of cooling ailment to his shoulder. It was still red – in fact, I thought that it looked even redder than before. When he heard me coming in, he looked up, startled for a second, but when he realized that it was me he sighed in relief.

"Here's your jacket." I said as I placed it on the bench next to him. "How are you feeling?" I asked, quietly.

"It still hurts." He replied with a sigh. "But it's fine. I've known for a while how this would end."

"Wait … if you knew about your shoulder, then … why are you swimming?" I couldn't stop myself from asking this. "I mean, I know that you love swimming, but this can't possibly be good for you."

"I'll be fine." He said, smiling lightly. He took the jacket and put it on, covering his injured shoulder.

And just in time too! Not a second later Nitori entered, searching for Sousuke. Apparently, Rin's race had started. He was kind of startled to see me here as well, but what worried me more was that Sousuke's cooling spray was still in sight. Naturally, the light-haired swimmer saw it and began asking questions about it.

"A-ah! That's for me!" I replied before Sousuke could react. I grabbed the spray and put it in my pocket. "I … fell in the pool, you see, and I think that I might have hurt my wrist." There was no logical connection between those two lies, but I had never been good at thinking on my feet. "And Sousuke was kind enough to give me this. He says that it will really help me." I smiled softly, praying desperately that Nitori would buy the story. Sousuke didn't need to have his secret revealed in such a clichéd manner – he had to be the one to tell his teammates about it.

"Oh." Nitori frowned slightly, but to my relief he seemed to accept my explanation. "Well then … Rin-senpai's race is about to start."

"I'll come in a second. You go on ahead." Sousuke said, standing up.

Nitori nodded and left. Once we were left alone, Sousuke turned to me with a grateful expression on his handsome face. I smiled and gave him the spray back. We stood in a somewhat awkward silence for a few minutes. I was looking at my feet, not really sure what else to do.

"You should go and cheer for your friend." I finally spoke up. "And please, don't forget that you promised me you'd tell him."

"I know." He nodded. He took one step towards me and pecked me on the lips. "You are a terrible liar, by the way." He added, smirking lightly.

I blushed and looked away embarrassed. I had never liked being deceitful, especially to someone like Nitori who didn't deserve it at all.

"W-well … is that a bad thing?" I asked.

He chuckled and ruffled my hair playfully. Leaning down, he rested his forehead against mine and stared at me for a few seconds before kissing me again. This time the kiss lasted longer. I closed my eyes, enjoying his taste on my lips.

_I'll never get enough of this!_

"Can I see you after the relay?"

"A-ah … Sure …" I muttered.

_He still plans to swim in the relay?_

We exited the changing room together and then parted ways, each of us going to their team. The race must have already started, since I could hear the crowd cheering for the swimmers. I quickened my pace, eager to see how Rin would perform.

"E-eh?!"

I blinked and managed to jump away just in time. Haru walked past me – I wasn't sure if he'd even noticed me – and a few seconds later Makoto appeared. He stopped when he saw me.

"Angel-kun … Did you see Haru?"

"Yeah." I nodded and pointed down the hallway. "He went that way … Did something happen again?"

"I'm not sure. We were watching Rin swim and then he just … ran off." He sighed. "Will you help me look for him?"

"Sure." I replied. "I think we should split up though. We'll have a better chance of finding him."

Makoto agreed with me and we darted off in different directions. I wandered around, looking in the changing rooms and in the shower rooms. Haru was nowhere to be seen. I was beginning to grow desperate and worried. I hoped that Makoto had better luck at finding Haru.

_If Haru is really upset about something, I'm sure that Makoto will be able to make him feel better._

"Uwah!" I had been lost in my thoughts and I wasn't looking where I was going, so naturally I bumped into someone. Looking up, I saw that it was Rin. "Oh … Sorry …"

"Don't sweat about it." He told me with a smirk. "So …" He stepped closer and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "I hear you and Sousuke are pretty close."

"I guess that we are … " I replied, blushing.

"I see." Suddenly his smirk faded and he looked at me with a serious expression on his face. "Then can you tell me what's going on? He hasn't been acting like himself for a while now."

"Ah …" I felt a cold drop of sweat rolling down my cheek. The situation was very complicated. I knew what was wrong with Sousuke, but I also knew that it was not my place to tell Rin. It was Sousuke who had to do it. "Maybe you should talk with Sousuke about this?"

"I tried to, but he always avoids answering." He frowned.

"Why don't you ask him again?" I suggested desperately.

Rin looked at me and his frown deepened.

"So you **do** know what's going on…" He said and then started walking, dragging me with him, ignoring my feeble protests. "We're gonna go see Sousuke and he'll tell me everything!"

* * *

We soon found Sousuke. He was sitting on a bench near the vending machines. His eyes were closed and he was leaning on the glass behind him. I wondered if he even knew that Rin and I were there. I noticed that he was holding his shoulder and flinched slightly.

Had Rin noticed that too?

"Sousuke."

Sousuke opened his eyes and stared at us with a slightly gaping mouth. His gaze shifted from Rin to me. I could see a question in his teal orbs – the question he didn't dare ask out loud – and I shook my head, silently assuring him that I hadn't said anything to his friend. He seemed relieved and moved his attention back to Rin.

"Tell me what's wrong." The red-headed boy said, sitting next to him.

I bit my lower lip. Now was the time. I looked at Sousuke – he was so scared, the poor guy! I could tell that he didn't want to break the news to his friend. But it was the right thing to do.

_It's ironic how the right thing to do is always the hardest._

"Nothing's wrong."

I gaped at the two stupidly. This was **not** the answer I was expecting. What happened to telling Rin the truth? What happened to our promise?

"Um … I think I should go …" I muttered. I felt like if I stayed here any longer, I'd burst and spill the beans myself. It was agony watching Sousuke struggle like that. But as I was about to leave, both Rin and Sousuke grabbed me, thwarting my escape. I had no choice but to stay, apparently.

Rin sighed and stood up, going to the vending machines. His move surprised me – I was expecting that he'd press Sousuke for the turth. It was really disappointing that he'd accept a mere "nothing's wrong". I looked at Sousuke, pouting slightly. He sighed and shook his head.

"Tell him." I whispered to him, making sure that Rin didn't hear me.

"I will." He whispered back.

"Sousuke." We both turned to Rin. He was looking at Sousuke and was holding a can of soda. "Here. It's on me." He tossed it towards Sousuke, who reached out to grab it.

With his right hand.

I winced even before it happened. I saw his teal eyes widening in shock and pain and then heard a soft clang when the soda can hit the floor and rolled away from the bench. Sousuke bit his lower lip and looked down at his feet. I wanted to go to him, embrace him, comfort him, even shield him from Rin's reaction - whatever it might be - but I couldn't move. This was between Rin and Sousuke now.

"So … You have hurt your shoulder?" Rin said and stepped closer to his friend, grabbing his jacket. "Let me see."

"No…"

"Let me see!"

With one swift move, he managed to open and tug down Sousuke's jacket, revealing his shoulder. It was still bright red and there was no doubt that it still caused him pain. I swallowed hard and stepped closer, putting a hand on his shoulder and gently caressing it. He closed his eyes briefly and leaned closer to me.

"How long has your shoulder been like that?" Rin asked quietly.

"Since this morning."

"Don't lie to me." Rin growled, the threat in his voice was more than evident. "There's no way your shoulder got like that so quickly!"

"Matsuoka-kun …" I muttered. "Be more gentle … please …"

"It's fine." Sousuke patted me on the hand and then smiled at Rin. "I could never lie to you, huh?" He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "My shoulder has been like that for two years. It happened in the summer after 10th grade."

Two years?! He had been like that for** two** **years**? How terrible it must have been for Sousuke, being in constant pain and unable to do the one thing he loved so much …

"But you said that you were scouted …" Rin muttered.

"I'm sorry … I lied about that."

I gasped quietly. I wasn't aware just how far Sousuke had gone to hide his health problems. Was swimming that important to him? Didn't he realize that he was risking his health that way?

"Rin … let's go and talk somewhere else."

They didn't seem to be paying much attention to me, so I tried to leave quietly. However, as soon as I moved my hand away from Sousuke's shoulder, he spun around and grabbed me by the wrist, pulling me closer to him.

"You'll come too. You need to hear this."

* * *

"… and eventually, my shoulder broke down completely." Sousuke chuckled bitterly. "Of course that it would …"

I sniffed quietly as I listened. It was so sad … and Sousuke was talking with such a calm voice, as if he'd already accepted it. It was unsettling how composed he was with this.

"I decided to give up swimming."

"What?" Rin and I exclaimed at the same time.

I went to Sousuke and took his hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Please … don't say that … You love swimming!" I cried out desperately. It wasn't fair, not fair at all! Why did Sousuke have to give up on a dream he's had since a child because he was working too hard to achieve it? How cruel was that? "Please, start doing your physical therapy again. If you're patient and take it slow this time, your shoulder **will** heal and you can continue with your dream! It will just take you a couple of more years probably, but that's ok!"

Sousuke smiled and wiped the tears from my cheek. He didn't seem to have listened to me, though, and was still resolved to follow through with his plans. But why? His shoulder could be fixed and he was still young enough to give up a couple of years to heal it. If he really concentrated and started right away, he could probably be swimming again before he was 20! So why was he giving up so easily? That wasn't like him at all!

Upset, I slapped his hand away, spun around and ran off. I heard Sousuke and Rin calling after me, but all their voices did was to make me run even faster. I couldn't believe this. For the first time since I'd met him, I was furious with Sousuke. Why was he so keen on swimming with Rin? And why was Rin so willing to let him potentially lose use of his right hand? Why were everyone so obsessed with swimming?!

I stopped when I knew that I was far away from the two. Thank god that all that training had made me faster! I was sure that they hadn't followed me, but I still looked around. I couldn't see anyone around me. I sighed and slumped to the ground, hugging my knees tightly.

_Maybe I should go back to the hotel … I could tell my friends that I'm not feeling well. It would suck, not being able to see their relay, but I just won't be able to watch Sousuke swim with his shoulder … _

"Angel."

I looked up and gaped when I saw that Haru was standing in front of me. How did he even know that I was here?

"So you know about Yamazaki's shoulder?"

"Huh? How did **you** know about that?" I exclaimed.

"I heard it from Kisumi." He replied. "I … heard you. Just now, when you were with him and Rin."

"You did?" I blinked and then suddenly stood up, hugging him tightly. "Please! You're good friends with Matsuoka-kun, right? **Please** … tell him not to let Sousuke swim. What if Sousuke's shoulder gets worse? It's not worth it."

Haru didn't reply immediately. He stood there like a statue, allowing me to sob for a minute or two. He didn't try to comfort me at all, but on the other hand he didn't push me away, so I supposed this was the best Haru could manage.

"Yamazaki wants to become Rin's true friend." He finally replied. "And the only way he can do that is if he swims with Rin today."

"Oh my god! Do you listen to yourself?" I exclaimed angrily. "He can become Rin's friend only if he swims today and busts his shoulder completely. Is this how you think friendships are made? Because this is **messed** up!" I took a deep breath, though that didn't calm me down one bit. "If Matsuoka-kun expects Sousuke to risk his health just to prove that he can be his friend, then I don't think that he's the kind of friend anyone needs! What if I came up to you and asked you to chop off your leg or we won't be friends? Would you do it?"

"Do you love Yamazaki?" Haru asked calmly, acting as if my rant had never happened.

I drew in a sharp breath and looked up at him. He had the same calm expression he always wore and I wasn't sure if he genuinely wanted to know. Even if he did, I didn't know what to answer. I had never been in love, I had no idea what love was supposed to feel like. I looked down, letting go of Haru's jacket – I had been gripping it tightly without even knowing it – and took a step back.

"I … I don't know. I'm not sure." I muttered. "How do you know if you love someone?"

"You love someone when you realize you don't ever want to be away from him, even for a second."

I blinked. That had actually been a rhetorical question, yet Haru had answered it without any hesitation. He didn't even say anything about water! And he was talking about a guy too … I shifted a bit awkwardly.

"That sounds kind of … obsessive." I said carefully. "And … I don't know. I like Sousuke, I like it when I'm with him, when we're … uh, kissing." I blushed. "But I'm not sure if I love him. I mean, I haven't known him for that long and we actually see each other very rarely, you know?"

"Will you watch his race?"

"No." I shook my head. "I couldn't bear it."

Haru was silent. He turned his head away, looking up to the sky and watching a bird which was lazily circling somewhere in the clouds above us.

"You should stay and watch him." He finally said, not taking his eyes off the bird. "You love him. Maybe you don't like the decision he's made, but you need to be there for him. I think that he needs your support as much as he needs Rin's, maybe even more." He looked at me. "Why is it so important to you that he doesn't swim today?"

"Because … then he won't have a chance to go pro. And that's his dream!" I exclaimed.

"If it were his dream, he would do it." Haru shook his head. "If he wants to swim with Rin, then that is his dream now."

I tilted my head, pondering Haru's words. Sousuke didn't look like someone who would ever do something he didn't want to do. So maybe Haru was right?

"I can't understand you people at all." I muttered sadly.

"Come on. Let's go." Haru said, not paying attention to my words.

He really wasn't listening to me at all, was he? I sighed.

"Ah … you go and get ready for the relay. I need to go see Sousuke." Now that I had calmed down a bit and had some time to reflect on everything that had happened, I felt a bit guilty and ashamed at how I had reacted. I needed to apologize to Sousuke.

I found him and the rest of his relay team in the changing rooms. They were all in their swimsuits and were just about to head to the pool. When I burst in the room, they all looked up. I ignored Momo's and Nitori's startled faces and went straight to Sousuke. He was looking at me with a slightly opened mouth.

"I'm sorry … about earlier." I said. "I didn't realize what swimming in the relay meant to you. And … I'm still not sure I fully understand but I want to be here for you. I told you that I would be."

He smiled lightly and hugged me, kissing the top of my head.

"Thank you." He whispered in my hair. "It really means a lot to me."

I smiled too and got out of his hug so that I could kiss his injured shoulder gently.

"Good luck." I said.

Suddenly I felt someone wrap his shoulders around me and pull me closer to them. I looked to the side and was met with a widely grinning Momotarou.

"Angel-kun, does this mean that you will be cheering for us and not your team?" He asked slyly.

I blinked and struggled to shake him off. I could already sense that Sousuke was getting irritated and I didn't want them to start fighting right before the relay. They were a team after all.

"Momo! Let's go outside!" Rin grabbed the ginger by the arm and pulled him to the door, followed by a very flustered Nitori.

When Sousuke and I were left alone, I shifted a bit uncomfortably. I had said everything I wanted to, so now I had no idea what to do. Maybe I should go back to Gou and Ama-chan? Suddenly Sousuke grabbed me and hugged me tightly.

"I'm sorry. I know that it doesn't make sense to you. But this is something that I want to do." He muttered.

"I know." I replied. "Sousuke … you should follow your dreams. If you want to swim with your friend, do it. I'll be cheering for you." I smiled. "I … I like you, so I want you to be happy." I blushed. Why was this so embarrassing? I could make out with Sousuke, but I couldn't tell him how I feel? How ridiculous … "Uh … you should probably go back to your team. The relay will start soon."

"Yeah." He chuckled quietly. Lifting my chin, he kissed me softly on the lips. "I like you too. Angel …"

* * *

"Nagisa, how can you still not be packed?" Makoto asked, sighing deeply.

The ever-cheerful swimmer giggled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. We were about to leave in half an hour, yet Nagisa hadn't packed even a single sock. We had all gathered in the room, except for Gou and Ama-chan, and were trying to help him, which turned out to be an almost impossible task, since Nagisa had scattered his belongings everywhere.

"We did it! We made it to nationals!" Nagisa exclaimed suddenly.

"Yeah, you did." I nodded, smiling.

The relay had been exhausting to watch. Our team's performance was perfect, as I had expected it would be, but I still shuddered when I remembered how my heart almost stopped. Despite what I had told Sousuke, I was very worried about him and still thought that it was a bad idea for him to swim in the relay. And for a few painful seconds it seemed like I was right. Sousuke started out well, but at some point his shoulder must have started aching so badly that he couldn't go on. He started falling behind and I yelped in fear when I saw that he couldn't even emerge from the water. Frozen with fear, I thought that he might drown!

I was almost ready to jump over the railing and run to the pool. I was out of my mind. Thankfully, Gou and the others were there to hold me back, otherwise I would have jumped in the pool to save Sousuke. Looking back, I was glad I hadn't done it, because he managed to overcome his pain and finish the relay.

Nevertheless, I was still feeling nervous whenever I thought about the relay. Sousuke could have drowned! Just thinking about that made me feel like the ground would crumble beneath me and I wanted to cry. I could have lost him today … I sighed and covered my eyes with my hand.

"By the way, Angel-chan, will you be here to see us at nationals?" Nagisa asked.

"Eh? Of course that I'll be here!" I replied. "Why did you even ask?"

"Well … you're going back home, right?"

I blinked and then frowned slightly, looking at Makoto. He was the only one whom I had told about that after all. Makoto flinched and waved his hands defensively.

"I just … Haru kept asking me what was wrong and I finally told him. And Nagisa happened to overhear us."

"Which means…" I said slowly, turning to Rei. "That you know too, right?"

He coughed embarrassed and adjusted his glasses. That was enough confirmation for me. I sighed. So much for trusting Makoto to keep his mouth shut.

"Are you really going to leave us, Angel-chan?" Nagisa asked sadly.

"Makoto-kun shouldn't have told you anything." I said, shaking my head. "I planned on telling you guys after the relay, since I didn't want you to get distracted. You see- uh …" I suddenly blushed.

Sousuke was standing in the room. I didn't remember him entering, but I knew that we hadn't closed the door, so it wasn't that surprising that he had managed to sneak in unnoticed. He was staring at me wide-eyed.

"You're leaving?!"

It took him only two large steps to reach me. He was paying no attention to Haru or the others. He grabbed me by the shoulders, squeezing a bit too tightly and shook me lightly. His lower lip was quivering. It was obvious that the thought of me leaving had shaken him quite a bit.

"You can't leave!" He exclaimed. "Please … I can't … I just …" He seemed to realize that there were other people in the room and he blushed.

I sighed. Oh god, this had turned into such a mess!

"Okay, listen up." I looked at Makoto. "Makoto-kun, didn't you tell them that I only **thought** that my parents wanted to go back? That seems like a crucial part …" I sighed and looked back at Sousuke. I took his hands gently and smiled at him. "I'm not leaving Japan. My parents initially did want to go back, but then we discussed it and we agreed that things would work out even if we stayed here. You see … my mom is pregnant." I grinned. "I'm going to have a baby sibling."

Everyone were in stunned silence for a few seconds and then they started cheering. Nagisa even leapt at me, landing between me and Sousuke and hugging me tightly.

"That's so cool!" He exclaimed, holding me so tightly I felt like he was trying to crush my bones. "Angel-chan, you're gonna be a big brother!"

"Yeah." I chuckled and looked at Sousuke. He hadn't said anything; he was just staring at me. I smiled. "Um, hey guys, I'll wait for you in the lobby, ok?" I gently pushed Nagisa away and took Sousuke's hand. "Come on."

Taking my bag in my other hand, I lead Sousuke out of the room and to the elevator. He was still silent and I felt kind of guilty. He had looked so scared when he thought that I was leaving … But how was I supposed to know that he'd come into the room at the most inappropriate of moments!

"Hey …" I said softly as we stepped into the elevator. "Say something."

"I'm sorry." He sighed. "I just. When I heard that you might leave … I couldn't … I can't lose you." Suddenly he was hugging me again, with his nose buried in my hair. "I need you."

"You … need me?" I blinked.

"Yes." He replied. "I couldn't have made it today without you. When I was swimming, I knew that you were watching. I wanted to make you proud. That's why I kept swimming even through the pain."

"And I am proud of you." I quickly said. "Really! What you did today was incredible!"

He smiled and stroked my cheek, then kissed me gently.

"You're so amazing." He whispered against my lips. "I want to be with you."

I blushed and nodded shyly, muttering that I wanted to be with him as well, then hid my face in his broad chest in total embarrassment. I was feeling so happy and relieved! Sousuke appeared to be fine and we were now together!

It really seemed like a perfect happy ending!


End file.
